Boating stories

My Columbia River Boat-Building Blog,

2022: Columbia River Lightship and Buoy Return to Astoria
2022: ColRiv–78′ Robert Allan ASD tug pulls record 96 tons
2022: ColRiv–Foiling Survey Catamarans Keep Grain Ships Moving
2022: Astoria Yard Upgrades ex- L. A. Pilot Boat for Grays Harbor
2020: NW Catamaran and Fast Ferry Launches
2019: Kitsap County’s Local Ferry is First Hybrid
2017: ColRiv–Caden Foss 110′ Multi-Purpose Tier 4 Tug for SF Bay
2014: ColRiv–120′ Hyak Tugs Set High Standard for Offshore Towing

I also have over 100 other published articles on this website on a wide variety of vessels of all sizes and types.

  • New marine technology: e-boats to wind-assist ships
  • Professional Yacht Racing: including IMOCA/Mini 6.5 interviews in France
  • Recreational boating: personal experience in kayaks, dayboats, mini cruisers
    • DIY Design/build/sail: 40 years of trials and triumphs on my 6m/19.5′ trimaran
  • Solo Voyages: Olympia to Glacier Bay (x 2), Great Lakes, Oregon coast, Columbia/Snake Rivers (x 2)
  • History of navigation in the Pacific NW from 1580
  • Just use the search bar on the right to find a particular story or topic

Ocean Rowing or Ocean blowing?

Is Ocean Rowing the “Ultimate Sporting Challenge” or an “Exercise in Futility?” I have been pondering the myth and reality of this extreme sport/obsession since 1991. That was when I sat in the front row of the press conference in Astoria for Frenchman Gerard d’Aboville after he crossed the North Pacific from Japan in 134 desperate days. That resulted in a feature story in Northwest Yachting magazine and since then, I have met and written about other intrepid solo adventurers who had completed what I would now describe as “ocean crossings with prevailing winds and oars.” But it took a decade before I had the courage to write a statement like that, knowing it would cause considerable offence. By 2000, I had met the next rower on the NW coast, Mick Bird, who departed from here and rowed to Hawaii. He was very honest about his crossing in the trade winds and I admired his nerve, but not his logic. I began to ponder the explanation and justification for these exploits and their denial of the very basic meteorology on which they all rely. I also met Erden Eruç by accident at the Seattle boat show, and checked in occasionally on his multi-year trip around the world by boat and bike. However, it was the Japanese tsunami of 2011, which provided absolute scientific proof of the power of the west wind and current on the North Pacific to send the tsunami wreckage to the U.S. west coast in 6-9 months. This had clearly transported Gerard d’Aboville most of the way to the Columbia River–a feat that now leaves me completely underwhelmed. Another Frenchman made his own statement by drifting across the Atlantic in barrel! So it appears I am the first and perhaps only public critic of ocean rowing online or in any other medium. Click here for my detailed analysis