Posted on 09/10/2013 2:39:29 PM PDT by Twotone
This video is of commercial fishing boats returning from fishing off the coast of Washington and Oregon . They are crossing the Columbia Bar, which is the site where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean.
This is designated as one of the most dangerous ports of entry anywhere in the world. There are at least eight to 10 deaths per year with people trying to get in or out in boats that are not made for this kind of severe beating – the kind you will see these boats going through.
These boats are self-righting, have a super low center of gravity, sealed engine compartments, basically bullet proof glass windows, double steel hulls. Well, you get the idea.
They are commercial shrimp and fishing boats. The Coast Guard has closed it to any other boats due to waves of 35 to 45 feet. It is quite a sight to see. Watch the U-tube video and determine if you would like to have been a crew member on either of these two vessels.
Columbia River bar – let’s go fishing! No Thank you very much!
2 fishing vessels brave the Grey River bar in full flood. Greymouth New Zealand HD Video by Geoff Mackley and Bradley Ambrose.
Did that guy in the beginning who went to the back of the boat get washed away?
wow I am not one to normally get seasick but I could see barfing being caught in stuff like that for a half hour or so.
It would be better to wait for slack water. I tossed my cookies on much less rough conditions on the Columbia River bar.
I did that in open ocean for 2 hours once. Every wave swamped the whole bow and often the wheelhouse of our 50 foot charter boat (I was deckhand).
I was sure I was going to die. The Coasties wouldn’t come out.
While we were about to die, the sun came up and spread gorgeous golden G-d rays through the dark purple scudding clouds.
Then groups of pilot whales started jumping from the tops of the 40 foot waves, frolicking for fun.
While we were going to die. For sure. I’m feeling sick again.
Sucks to be in waves that are taller than the pilot house.
Looks like team Oracle today in San Francisco. They got lucky as hell on Sunday.
synchopate the video with this UToob rendering:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sea3lnVgyrY
very cool...
Amended: The waves were peaking around 40 feet, and our bow would climb one, the front half of the boat would go airborne, then plunge down into the trough, and plow THROUGH the next wave. So we only buried the bow every-other wave.
Been across that bar on small tanker when it was like that.
Strong outgoing tide and incoming waves & swells created those conditions. Six hours or even three hours later at incoming or slack makes a big difference.
I think the photograper was from New Zealand. It was an outgoing tide, not a flood.
My family would go salmon charter fishing out of Ilwaco every summer for years and years. Haven’t down that since 1979. I never did become seasick from crossing the bar, and even on a nice day it can be a terrible ride.
The water is very brown. We’ve had some heavy rain a week ago; runoff must have moved a lot of silt out of the watershed.
Ughhh... I feel seasick now.
Plz tell me the Captain’s chair is gyroscopically stabalized...
WTH?
Steelye Dan’s “Home at Last”, an homage to Homer’s Odyssey.
The synchopation works pretty well on the 2 videos.
Looks like the Obama Ship of State under Kerry’s tutelage...
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