Currents, 'tule fog' pose challenges for Oregon coast's seasoned pilots

摘要

The Coos Bay Bar, one of several port entrances on the Oregon coast, has a well-justified reputation for being unfriendly to shipping. For the Coos Bay Pilots there are no "routine" crossings. Each ship has to be considered in relation to winds, tidal conditions and the north- or south-flowing coastal currents crossing the mouth of the twin jetties that protect the narrow mile-long entrance to Coos Bay. The 300-foot channel inside the jetties leads a ship in an east-southeasterly course followed by a hard turn to port to move up through the long passage of the bay in a northeasterly direction.