How Astoria Made the National News–in France! It was 25 years ago at the end of November 1991 that a French adventurer arrived off the Columbia River after an incredible voyage from Japan. He was 46-year old Gerard d’Aboville and he had achieved one of the rapidly diminishing number of “firsts” left to claim in… Continue reading 2016: 25 Years Since Gerard d’Aboville’s Trans-Pacific Row
Category: Worth Reading
Ole Evinrude’s Outboard Engine is 100 Years Old
How Ole Evinrude Invented his “Detachable Rowboat Engine” It has been 100 years since the first successful Evinrude machine took the boating world by storm. Ole Evinrude was born in 1877 in Christiania, Norway, and his idea was so revolutionary that it really did have a name for a while—more of a description. It was… Continue reading Ole Evinrude’s Outboard Engine is 100 Years Old
100 Years of History for Seattle’s Ship Canal and Locks
The Lake Washington Ship Canal and the locks that connect Lake Union to Puget Sound is such an integral part of the city that it’s practically impossible to imagine life without them. Whether you are boating, paddling or just strolling along the water’s edge, you can appreciate that Seattle’s navigable inland waterways are an engineering… Continue reading 100 Years of History for Seattle’s Ship Canal and Locks
Is the Columbia Bar the Graveyard of the Pacific?
Whether you visit the mouth of the Columbia by boat or live here as I do, you can’t avoid the constant reminder that the Columbia Bar is the “Graveyard of the Pacific–the most treacherous stretch of water in the world,” or words to that effect. Exactly who decided this (or that a river is capable… Continue reading Is the Columbia Bar the Graveyard of the Pacific?
Cannons from 1846 Wreck Spotted on North Oregon Coast
2014 discovery of Cannons Excites Town of Cannon Beach The two half-ton cannons found on the Oregon coast have returned after a six-year restoration at the Center for Marine Archeology and Conservation at Texas A & M university. They were finally put on display at the Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria on May 24—and… Continue reading Cannons from 1846 Wreck Spotted on North Oregon Coast
2014: Escape to the Olympic Discovery Trail
Have you ridden the Olympic Discovery Trail? I hadn’t even heard of it until I reached Washington’s North Olympic coast on a “last-minute” bike tour this past September. In fact, it took a string of coincidences to put me on the road around Washington State’s Olympic Peninsula and back to my home in Astoria, Ore.… Continue reading 2014: Escape to the Olympic Discovery Trail
Chasing the Tillamook Steam Train — by Bike!
Some of my most memorable cycling moments have been entirely unexpected … like the time I found myself participating in that classic western scene — the train robbery! It was last summer and I was staying at Rockaway Beach on the north Oregon coast, visiting some friends. I was about to hop on the bike… Continue reading Chasing the Tillamook Steam Train — by Bike!
Vakea 19 Reborn–My 42 Years in D.I.Y. Trimaran Design
The boat in the title began life as 19′ schooner VAKEA in 1981. It was built from a rough sketch in 20 weeks, and first featured in Multihulls magazine the next year. I added a new, longer bow in 1983 raising the length to 21’/6.5m and changed to a sloop rig. I renamed the boat… Continue reading Vakea 19 Reborn–My 42 Years in D.I.Y. Trimaran Design
1994: Small is Beautiful at Nexus Marine P.Marsh
After a few years, I think all of us develop a system for viewing the Seattle Boat Show. When I finally reach the main floor, my plan involves dodging between glittering runabouts and towering cruisers to find what Nexus Marine has on display. I’ve never been disappointed because year after year Nancy Sosnove and David… Continue reading 1994: Small is Beautiful at Nexus Marine P.Marsh
2011: “Around the Americas” Voyage Comes full Circle
It was the end of May 2010 when the 64-foot steel expedition yacht Ocean Watch set sail from Seattle on the 28,000-mile “Around the Americas” voyage–the first continuous circumnavigation of North and South American continents. One year and one week later, Captain Mark Schrader and his valiant crew returned to the Pacific Northwest when they… Continue reading 2011: “Around the Americas” Voyage Comes full Circle