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THE ASTORIAN • THuRSdAy, MARcH 18, 2021
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IN ONE EAR • ELLEDA WILSON
A BEAUTIFUL CREATURE
WRONG CALL
T
wo men in dory had a very close call on March 9. A
report came in at 10:18 a.m. that a boat had capsized
in the ocean near Cape Kiwanda in Pacific City, the Tilla-
mook County Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook. Depu-
ties Dennis Greiner and Ben Berger responded. Here’s
what happened:
That morning, a fisherman was determined to retrieve
his crab gear and launched his 21-foot dory Jomar into
the surf, despite being warned by fellow dorymen that it
wasn’t safe. Although he took an observer along with him,
neither one of them was wearing a life jacket. Luckily,
they were wearing wetsuits.
On their third attempt to get out through the surf, water
came in over the bow. Deciding maybe the sea really was
too rough after all, the fisherman turned around to head for
shore. In the process, so much water poured in over the
transom that bailing became useless.
At that point, the fisherman tried using the motor, but
it was too late. The boat was sinking. There was only one
recourse: They jumped overboard and swam for it. As
he explained to Greiner, he “ghost-rided the whip to the
beach, man, jumped out and that was it.”
Fortunately, both men were experienced surfers and
swam to the beach unhurt. The Jomar did not fare nearly
as well, and broke apart. A photo is shown, courtesy of the
sheriff’s office.
“We make tough decisions every day,” noted an expe-
rienced dory fisherman, who witnessed the drama unfold-
ing. “Sometimes we make the wrong call.”
Greiner’s response to the morning’s narrow escape
was far pithier: “Your livelihood is not worth your
life.”
GLIMPSES
uring Astoria’s winters, some whining can be
heard about the number of gray and cloudy days.
Those looking at the glass as half empty may now be
able to view it as half full, thanks to nautical writer Asto-
rian Peter Marsh (sea-to-summit.net).
“You think its cloudy here? Try the Faroe Islands,”
he observed, referring to the online article “Top
10 Cities that Receive the Least Sunshine” (bit.ly/
graydayz).
The world’s No. 1 darkest city is Tórshavn
(pictured) — the biggest town on the largest island,
Streymoy — the capitol of the Faroe Islands. The
islands are self-governing but under the sovereignty of
Denmark.
On the bright side, the climate is fairly mild, with a
summer high of about 54 degrees Fahrenheit; in winter,
the high is around 43 degrees Fahrenheit, but the tem-
perature rarely dips below freezing. Like our fair city, it
rains most often in fall and winter.
But … Tórshavn records an average of only 2.4 hours
of sunshine per day and a dismal 840 hours per year.
Feeling better now?
D
ast week there was news of a gray whale
way up the Columbia River near Ridgefield,
Washington.
Scott Kaul and his son, JT Kaul, and his son’s
friends, Corky Reed and Carson Grant, were testing
some new gear for Scott’s company, Brad’s Killer Fish-
ing Gear, in Longview, Washington, when they spotted
the meandering mammal, and posted a video on Face-
book (fb.me/BradsKillerFishingGear). A screenshot is
shown.
“They were trolling with some new flashers, and
possibly the constant flash led the whale to believe it
was a school of salmon,” Scott speculated. “Not sure.
But it followed the boat, just behind it, for about 4
miles.
“Each time it surfaced, everyone assumed it was a
sea lion breathing through its air hole … (but) the sound
got progressively louder, making everyone wonder if it
was … possibly a whale. But no one really thought a
whale would be up that far.
“Eventually everyone in the boat began believing
this could have, indeed, been a whale. It was just under
the surface, and you could see the wake. As soon as the
camera came out it raised out of the water, so it was just
one of those right place/right time things.
“We’re not sure why the whale followed the boat for
so long, but it kept at the same speed (1.7 to 1.8 mph)
for several miles until it finally passed the boat and
headed down river toward the coast.”
“We received a report of another live whale within
the past couple of years in the Portland airport area,”
Dalin D’Alessandro, of the Northern Oregon/South-
ern Washington Marine Mammal Stranding Net-
work, recalled. “However, this sighting could not
be confirmed, and there were no further sightings
reported.
“That being said it is rare, but not unheard of, for
whales to head up river systems,” she noted. “… The
hope would be that (this whale) continues its outbound
travel and returns to the ocean.”
If you see it, notify the Seaside Aquarium at seaside-
aquarium@gmail.com
“Hopefully it made it all the way,” Scott added.
“It’s a beautiful creature, and one we’d all like to see
survive.”
L
STEEPED IN HISTORY
limpses of life from The Daily Morning Astorian,
March 19, 1889:
• “I’ve got ‘em again,” said a man yesterday as, rubbing
his eye, he saw what seemed to be a sea serpent wriggling
along Third Street. It proved to be a string of net floats
on the end of a line that was tied to a moving truck three
blocks ahead.
• When the Columbia arrived at San Francisco last Sat-
urday she was flying the yellow flag, having a case of
smallpox among the cabin passengers. It had developed
since leaving last Thursday.
• Chas. Johnson and Ella Brown were married, and a
party went to give them a “shivaree” (noisy celebration).
One, named Seacrust, heightened the general joy of the
occasion by blazing away with a revolver to help the thing
along. He shot the bridegroom, who died last Tuesday.
Seacrust feels real bad about it.
UNDER A CLOUD
G
n interesting tidbit from a March 1887 edition of The
Daily Astorian:
• … A heavy landslide occurred one mile below Pil-
lar Rock, Washington Territory … a mass of earth slid-
ing from the bluff into the water, carrying trees, soil,
rocks, etc., and completely demolishing two houses
owned and occupied by (two families who made) their
escape in their night clothing. Both families are reported
to be in a destitute condition.
Note: Taking a look at a geological map reveals that
yes, indeed, the area is a landslide zone (bit.ly/Pillar-
map). The town of Pillar Rock took its name from a
monolith that sits about 900 feet offshore in the Colum-
bia River, a few miles east of Altoona. Both the area and
the rock are steeped in history.
The rock’s original name was Taluaptea, after a
Wahkiakum chief. He angered the gods, who turned
him to stone. Originally 75 to 100 feet high, Pillar Rock
was eventually flattened to 25 feet to install a navigation
marker and light.
The Lewis and Clark Expedition stopped at Pillar
Rock twice, first on Nov. 7, 1805, when William Clark’s
famous quote “Great joy in camp we are in View of the
Ocian …” was written. They stopped again on Nov. 25
that year, while backtracking to find a narrower spot to
cross the Columbia.
In the 1830s, a Hudson’s Bay Co. fish receiving sta-
tion and saltery was operational at Pillar Rock during
salmon season. From 1877 to 1947, the Pillar Rock Can-
nery packed salmon. In 1947, the decline in both the
salmon and Chinook runs caused both the Altoona and
Pillar Rock canneries to close.
The Pillar Rock Cannery still stands, but is now pri-
vately owned, and isn’t accessible except by invitation
or (history buffs, take note) during a stay at the Pillar
Rock Cannery Escape Airbnb. (bit.ly/PillarRock, bit.ly/
PillarRock1)
WHAT IS IT?
un rerun: “We just found one of our crab pots!”
Kari Petersen posted on Facebook. “It is like find-
ing a needle in a haystack. Big ocean.” The crab pot is
pictured.
“What in the world is on this crab pot?” she asked.
“That crab pot has been in the ocean for years … It is all
over the rope and pot.”
“The consensus of the researchers here at Point
Adams is that this anemone is of the genus Metridium
farcimen, otherwise known as the Gigantic Anemone,”
Michelle Rub, a fisheries biologist at National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration in Hammond, wrote.
“But it’s hard to say definitively without seeing the
plumes.”
Kelsey Adkisson, of the Oregon Department of
Fish and Wildlife’s Marine Resources Program, wrote
that “our biologists said they are a type of anemone
called pile or plumose anemones” and agree about the
genus.
So, there you have it: Anemone, genus Metridium;
exact species — hard to say, under the circumstances.
(In One Ear, 5/19/17)
F
ROCKY ROOOOAAD
A
EYESORE
ne of the most controversial aftereffects of the 2011
Japanese tsunami, which had its 10th anniversary
last week, is the government’s response: building enor-
mous, view-blocking seawalls to replace the old ones,
which proved ineffective.
According to a story on ABC.net.au, a wall is being
built 46 feet high and will cover 248.5 miles of threatened
coastline. It’s costing $17 billion, and not all are happy
with its looming presence. Photos of the wall are at bit.ly/
coastwall; one, by Oscar Boyd, is shown.
“We’re all very sad that our former lifestyle has gone,”
oyster farmer Atsushi Fujita observed, “and we can no lon-
ger see the ocean from our windows. It’s really affecting
us a lot.”
Love the wall or hate it, there’s not much argument on
one thing: It’s an eyesore.
O
erendipity Brands owns the iconic Serendipity 3
restaurant in New York City, open since 1954, which
is particularly known for its desserts and specialty ice
cream pints.
“It has been said that our sundaes make you feel like
a child again,” the website says. “That’s been our aim
since the beginning …”
So it’s no surprise that Serendipity has teamed
up with Warner Bros. to produce a new ice cream
flavor, based on another childhood favorite:
The Goonies Sloth & Chunk Rocky Rooooaad,
made of “chocolate marshmallow swirl ice cream with
fudge-covered almonds.” A pint is pictured, courtesy of
Serendipity.
And yes, you can order it online at bit.ly/goonpint
for $7.99 a pint. Getting it here is another matter:
$29 for standard shipping; $85.76 for two-day air; or
$88.77 for overnight. So, you might want to rethink that
idea.
S