Lightship Columbia Astoria Oregon

The Lightship Columbia can be found at the Columbia Maritime Museum in Astoria Oregon. People don't realize this ship is considered a lighthouse. The Lightship Columbia functioned as a floating lighthouse to mark the mouth of the Columbia River from 1951-1979. Since the lightship was essentially a small town anchored 5 miles out to sea, all of the supplies for the crew had to be on board. The lightship had a crew of 17 men who worked 2–4-week rotations, with 10 men on duty at a time. Life on board consisted of long periods of monotony punctuated by fierce storms, particularly in the winter.

The Lightship Columbia is open daily 11:00AM - 3:00PM and Access to the Lightship is included with Museum Admission. Check with the Admissions Desk and they will give you a ticket and you will have to show this in order to get aboard the ship.

I will show you the tour of the ship first because the museum was also interesting and if you love maritime history, you will love it here.

You have to hop aboard and see for yourself where the sailors would cook, eat, sleep, and work.

It definitely takes getting used to being on the ship because everything is so close quartered.

A picture of the captain's bathroom and captain's quarters.

A window to serve food through from the kitchen to the mess hall.

I love coffee so I had to take a picture of the old coffee machine.

The kitchen was pretty good size compared to everything else.

The command center.

Further below deck is where all of the ropes and other items used to help ships in distress.

The sailor's quarters were cramped, and everything seemed shared.

There was even a workshop on board to fix any issues with the ship.

Time to head up the stairs. They are so steep I can't image how someone could climb these with the rocking of the ship from waves and storms.

This is the deck.

Headed to the front of the ship.

This is like a mini lighthouse they would put out to sea to help other ships navigate the Columbia River,

Some random pictures from the dock outside of the ship.

The Astoria–Megler Bridge.

Heading into the Columbia Maritime Museum and in here you can see Coast Guard rescues, watch the powerful Pacific Northwest storms in a movie theater, and learn why the Columbia River Bar is called the Graveyard of the Pacific.

The Salmon Canning Capital of the World.

The Gillnetter.

There are so many boats and ships here and with the history of each is just amazing.

They also have various exhibits here that change frequently, and some stay longer than others. Currently they have the following exhibits:

-Shipwrecks

-Science of Storms

-The Story of Yosegaki Hinomaru and WWII

-U.S.S. Shark Cannons

-Mapping the Pacific Coast

My favorite was the Graveyard of the Pacific. In this exhibit they talked about why this area is called what it is. Since 1792 approximately 2000 vessels, including over 200 large ships, have sunk at the Columbia River Bar. More than 700 people have lost their lives to the sea. These dangers have earned this area the title “Graveyard of the Pacific”. Mariners agree that the combination of high seas, a mighty river, land shallow, and shifting sand bars make the Columbia River bar one of the most dangerous bar crossings in the world. The large interactive map in the Museum’s lobby provides information about the many historic shipwrecks in the area.