Look what floated past our houseboat today!

Some days life just gives you flotsam!

--Brian

I don't remember if I photographed Nancy Ann last year, but here's my first sighting of her this year:

--Brian

It's probably the first nice day on a weekend since last year and everone is out in their boats. Here's a nice ketch:

Hey, I just figured out that this is a chartered ketch. Looks like a lot of fun!  Check out their website at sailpromise.com.

--Brian

Here was the lead boat for the Multnomah Channel Yacht Club on Opening Day of 2008. We did win first place for best decorated boat as well as first in most other categories. The theme was Romancing the Rose. (Portland is the Rose City.) Here is our Commodore, John Waikart, paddling a 32' replica of a gondola. Yes, of course we also had Italian music playing.  Duane Westfall, the Rear Commodore, was in charge of the event and decorations and he did a great job.

--Brian

Here is one of our neighbors, a professional fisherman.

--Brian

It's a slow salmon season on the channel, but they are out there. Here are some people trying to catch one.

Not exactly a hog line, but there are a few boats out:

--Brian

I wasn't there to see the Christmas Ships parade this year, so my mom took some photos. They have a little bit of motion blur, but are still pretty good. A lot of these have moving lights, sound effects, and even a fire-breathing dragon (complete with real fire). We obviously cannot show those things here.

--Brian

It's been a while since I posted and people have been asking why. In part it was because of working so hard on my tax preparation and in part it was because we went on vacation from 9/28 through 10/16. But I just figured out another problem. I sit next to a window that looks out over the river. When the window is open I can hear a boat coming and take a quick look at it. If it needs photographing, I have time to run out and get a picture. But since it has been cooler I have been keeping the window closed so I do not hear them coming. By the time I see them, it is too late to get the camera and run outside to get the photo. I try to keep the quality of my photos as high as possible and a picture of a boat going away (especially if heading into the sun) is just not good enough.

One of these days I hope to mount a webcam facing out onto the river.  Then you will always have something to see ...

--Brian

Here's a pretty boat. I'm putting her in the power boat category because she is obviously no longer used for fishing.

I did some research and found this boat listed by the Canadian fisheries organization as a trawler built in 1945 in Sointula, BC, Canada. Here she is in a pre-conversion photo. She shows up in this document as being owned in 2005 by Beaverton resident Michael Baccellieri. Apparently he converted and restored the boat himself. A very good job, too! Even the dinghy is special.

--Brian

If you look closely, you will notice that there is an osprey sitting on the piling in these photos. Most of the people zooming by did not even notice him. He probably would have flown off except that he was trying to eat a nice big fish.

--Brian