Preserving the History of the Canneries and the Workers The Hanthorn Cannery Museum in Astoria is a place like no other on the west coast: a collection of old fishing and fish-canning equipment and boats housed in the oldest cannery on the Columbia River, dating from 1875. There is no charge to enter the museum… Continue reading 2015: Visit the Hanthorn Cannery Museum in Astoria
Category: Nautical History
Built in 1947, Portland’s Sternwheel Tug Steamed into the 21st Century but Ran onto the Rocks in the Pandemic!
The sternwheel steamboat was an everyday sight on the Portland, Oregon, waterfront until the 1920s. And although those ferryboats disappeared long ago, steam power lived on until 1981 in the shape of the port-owned, “ship-assist sternwheeler” Portland. A group of volunteers formed the Oregon Maritime Center Museum and took on the preservation of this remarkable… Continue reading Built in 1947, Portland’s Sternwheel Tug Steamed into the 21st Century but Ran onto the Rocks in the Pandemic!
1899: Horse Pulls Columbia Lightship to Safety
How the Columbia Lightship Went for a Walk… Forty years after a lighthouse was built on Cape Disappointment in 1852, wrecks were still a common occurrence off the mouth of the mighty Columbia River. After years of complaints and petitions, the federal government was finally persuaded to find the funds to order a… Continue reading 1899: Horse Pulls Columbia Lightship to Safety
“Tango Around the Horn” Book Review
Introduction My connection with author Larry Barber began in 1989, when he published his first book “Tango Round the Horn” at the remarkable age of 88. The Tango was the last and the biggest sailing ship to ever carry lumber from the Pacific Northwest forests, originally built in Scotland in 1902 as a 396′ square… Continue reading “Tango Around the Horn” Book Review
SS Jeremiah O’Brien Visit Recalls When Portland Was the WWII “Liberty Factory”
The first visit of the last operational Liberty Ship Jeremiah O’Brien to the Pacific Northwest in 1998 brought back many memories to those who remember the war years. The Liberties were the ships that saved Britain in 1942 during the darkest days of World War II and many of them were produced by three northwest… Continue reading SS Jeremiah O’Brien Visit Recalls When Portland Was the WWII “Liberty Factory”
2012 – “Graveyard of the Pacific” Good for Tourism? by P.Marsh
The end of November, 2014 brought the first big storm of winter, the first bar closure–and the annual “Graveyard of the Pacific Shipwreck Weekend” at Cape Disappointment. The weekend is billed as a “family-friendly” outing, but personally, I have begun to wonder if we aren’t a little too light-hearted about death and destruction on our… Continue reading 2012 – “Graveyard of the Pacific” Good for Tourism? by P.Marsh
The Kaiser’s Cup Transatlantic Race of 1905
Schooner Atlantic Wins Transatlantic Race in 12 Days The wealthiest owners in the sport of sailing are back in the news again as they and their teams of lawyers haggle over when, where and in what they will race for the America’s Cup. Unfortunately, years of non-stop legal wrangling over the most famous prize in… Continue reading The Kaiser’s Cup Transatlantic Race of 1905