The sea was angry that day, my friends...

[RobertJ.]

More specifically, the mouth of the Columbia on New Year's Day!

The first photo is the south jetty, the second photo are the breakers that made it past the jetty. That photo is looking towards Cape Disappointment, on the Washington side.

Now, I've seen some pretty small boats make it out over "the bar", but this wasn't the day to try it!

 

[Lee Barner]

doesn't look like a good time to go fishing. nice photos. lee

 

[retiredbadge8091]

The nephew takes his small fishing boat to the ocean via the mouth of the Columbia. When I hear he's going fishing I'm always hoping he shows the proper restraint.

When we were in Astoria we visited the Columbia River Maritime Museum. There's quite a history of ship wrecks and rescues in that area. Cape Disappointment indeed.

 

[steelslaver]

Its called the grave yard of the Pacific for good reason. I know some guys who commercial fish out of their (mostly dungeness crab) and they often will not cross the bar there in 58' steel boats. Need right tide and weather. When the tide is flooding (rising) and the current from the tide meets the current of the river it really stacks up over the shallows formed by the bar. Add some wind behind one of those 2 opposing currents and you have some really messy water.

 

[OLDSTER]

"The sea was angry my friends"

Like your title from one of the best "Seinfeld" episodes. George Costanza telling his friends of his saving a beached whale

 

[5-Shot]

Shortly after I moved to Oregon (many years ago) I read a newspaper report of two fishermen drowning when their boat was flipped end over end running into a bay during bad weather. My initial reaction, based on a Tennessee perception of what a two man fishing boat should look like, was "what in the world were they thinking?" It was very sobering to read, later in the story, that the boat was 41 feet long.

Ed

 

[glenncal1]

There is a reason the Coast Guard does their lifeboat training in that area.

 

[Snapping Twig]

Every time I see that I thank God that I'm launching out of Half Moon Bay.

The ocean is no joke and it does not play, even without the mouth of the Colombia to cross.

 

[RobertJ.]

Its called the grave yard of the Pacific for good reason. I know some guys who commercial fish out of their (mostly dungeness crab) and they often will not cross the bar there in 58' steel boats. Need right tide and weather. When the tide is flooding (rising) and the current from the tide meets the current of the river it really stacks up over the shallows formed by the bar. Add some wind behind one of those 2 opposing currents and you have some really messy water.

My cousin Steve was killed seven years ago working on a crab boat, and my friend Tim was on a fishing boat that capsized and he was never found.

In high school, I had a job as a deck hand on a small charter boat (40 ft.), and saw people who had no business being out there!

 

[RobertJ.]

Like your title from one of the best "Seinfeld" episodes. George Costanza telling his friends of his saving a beached whale

As a Seinfeld fan, I did that on purpose. I skipped the second half of the quote, "like an old man, trying to send back soup at a deli"!

 

[mtgianni]

There is a reason the Coast Guard does their lifeboat training in that area.

My thoughts were it could be a tough day to be a Coastie, though in truth most days are.

 

[Oldiron]

mtgianni, Not necessarily a tough day. Worst weather I ever made a hoist from the H3s was 70kt wind and 30-40' seas. The right bird and the right training made it a little aggravating but everyone went home. This was before the days of "Rescue Swimmers". Thought process was you have someone in the water to get out, no reason to add more.
Tough to me was spending 2-3 hrs looking for a man overboard in several sq. miles of ocean. Never did turn out good. Imagine trying to find a target the size of your head (which is all that will be out of the water) from 1000 ft. There are worse things than bad weather. Larry

 

[shouldazagged]

I admired the photographs, especially the first one. Very nice work.

I've heard terrifying stories about the mouth of the Columbia, and the Bay of Fundy.

 

[steelslaver]

I spent quite a few summers commercial fishing for salmon in Alaska and Puget sound. I even made the mistake of going crabbing in the Bering sea one season.

One of the terms used for a fisherman passing away is "crossing the bar"

Tell you something about passing bars don't it.

 

[DeathGrip]

There's a beauty in the power of oceans and rivers mixing it up.

That right there is way above my skill level.

Thanks for the pics.

 

[billwill]

I like fishing from the beach.

 

[mtgianni]

mtgianni, Not necessarily a tough day. Worst weather I ever made a hoist from the H3s was 70kt wind and 30-40' seas. The right bird and the right training made it a little aggravating but everyone went home. This was before the days of "Rescue Swimmers". Thought process was you have someone in the water to get out, no reason to add more.
Tough to me was spending 2-3 hrs looking for a man overboard in several sq. miles of ocean. Never did turn out good. Imagine trying to find a target the size of your head (which is all that will be out of the water) from 1000 ft. There are worse things than bad weather. Larry

I worked S&R enough to know if they are not at the bar, the odds are high you are finding a body.
I have seen 30 foot seas in the Drake Passage but was far more frightened in Yellowstone Lake with 5-6 foot waves and a 16' kayak. Some days you know someone is looking out for you.

 

[k22fan]

[...] I have seen 30 foot seas in the Drake Passage but was far more frightened in Yellowstone Lake with 5-6 foot waves and a 16' kayak. [...]

I have just enough experience to offer k22fan's definition of a big wave: it's big if its white cap is above eye level.

 

[jag312]

If my father saw those photographs, he'd laugh. Old Navy men have some pretty harrowing stories. During one particularly violent storm in the Pacific, my father's ship developed a crack in the hull. He was afraid if the crack got any bigger, the ship would go down. Men who go to sea have a particular kind of bravery.

 

[Mistered]

It was very sobering to read, later in the story, that the boat was 41 feet long.

I had a friend who live in Seaside for many years and I recall him once telling me the average length for boats that met with disaster at the mouth of the Columbia was like 26 - 28' - big enough for the owners to be overconfident but small enough to be tossed about like a cork.