Pilots on the Columbia River

Pilots on the Columbia River. Ship Safety Requires Knowledge of Local Conditions. , The mouth of the Columbia River is known to mariners as one of the most hazardous crossings in the world. Large ocean-going vessels rely upon highly skilled pilots to bring them across the bar and then to guide them safely to ports up and down the river. , The channel for large ocean-going vessels on the Columbia River extends to Portland, 100 miles inland from the sea. Bar pilots guide incoming vessels only as far as Astoria, where they are replaced by river pilots for the rest of the voyage. For outbound vessels, this exchange is reversed. From this location, one can often observe the transfer of river and bar pilots from a small pilots' tug. , Getting bar pilots on and off large vessels outside the mouth of the Columbia River is more difficult, due to the rough conditions and high seas which frequent the area. Since the late 1960s, the pilot launches Peacock and Columbia, highly visible with their orange superstructures, have transported bar pilots to and from the entrance to the river. , The first pilot to guide vessels over the Columbia River bar was a Native American appointed by the Hudson's Bay Company. Concomly, a leader of the Chinook people, watched for ships from his village across the river. In 1847, the Territory of Oregon granted its first pilot's license for the Columbia River. In 1850, Capt. George Flavel was granted the first branch license, or commission certifying competency to pilot in these specific waters. Flavel was to go on to dominate pilotage across the Columbia River bar for the next thirty years. , Bar and river pilots on the Columbia are renowned for piloting in some of the most challenging conditions found anywhere in the United States. Vessels and equipment have changed dramatically over the years, but safe passage still depends on skillful guidance by highly trained individuals. , The Columbia River bar is where the largest river entering the Pacific Ocean in the western hemisphere meets the broadest reach of open ocean in the world. When storms and swells off the North Pacific encounter the shallow areas at the river's mouth, enormous seas can result, especially during a hard ebb tide when the water piles up against the rapid outbound current.