Perspective 2: Crossing the Bar

The current show at the Maritime Museum (shown several times in this blog) is "Crossing the Bar." It sounds fascinating and I'm going to make an effort to see it. It was a beautiful day yesterday as we strolled along the River Walk. Cruise ships disembark at two docks in Astoria. The smaller ones like this riverboat dock tie up at 17th Street, above, while the big cruise ships tie up at the port docks at the west end of town.

The photo above shows the Maritime Museum with its wave-like swooping lines and the dock at 17th Street. On the evening of May 13th, when I took the photo from the top of the Astoria Column, there were no ships docked, but usually you can see a Coast Guard ship and sometimes a passenger steamboat. If you enlarge the photo, you can barely make out the light ship Columbia, which is a permanent resident and part of the museum. Until a number of years ago, it was anchored 17 miles offshore, and severed as a lighthouse.

In this photo, you can also see the pilot boat Arrow 2 heading back to its dock at 12th Street, having put a bar pilot on board the ship. Remember the sign above - "Crossing the Bar"? It's such a specialized activity that it requires a seasoned and specially-trained pilot just for the short trip.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.