It’s been sad to see the old Tourist No. 2 ferry and the Antarctic research vessel Hero fall victim to passing years and lack of maintenance. Sad also seeing Oregon and Washington taxpayers getting stuck with the bill for the ill-prepared enthusiasms of would-be boat rescuers.

Shortly after moving here from Seattle many years ago I was eying a neglected wood sailboat as a possible recreational project. My wise old boss at the time, who had done something similar when he was young and foolish, asked if I really wanted to spend more time and money than I had in pursuit of a dream that would be hard to fulfill. Thankfully, I listened, though it still crosses my mind from time to time. Wouldn’t it be something to sail the Northwest Passage to the homes of my ancestors in England and Scandinavia? But maybe a steel-hulled vessel would make a better choice than a wooden “hole in the water into which you throw money.”

We’ll have an update in our Aug. 31 edition about the Tourist No. 2 being demolished in the Columbia just offshore from Astoria. It’s from our sister publication, The Astorian. I closely monitor content in the Astorian and our company’s other publications, including the wonderfully informative specialist agricultural journal Capital Press, which keeps close tabs on state and federal regulatory issues that often overlap with those facing our important shellfish industries. I also pay attention to regional news partners including public radio and university news services for content that may be of interest to you.

My goal is always to provide a complete picture of everything that’s relevant to local readers, without lapsing into coverage that can be found anywhere on TV or the internet. There must be thousands of places to read the latest national news, but only in the Observer will find most of what is unique to Pacific County.

As always, thank you for your support of this community project. I appreciate you. And always bear in mind that I’m constantly on the hunt for news and features. If you have ideas to share, please drop me a note at editor@chinookobserver.com.

Accompanying photo is the letterhead from the company that once operated the Tourist No. 2 between Astoria and the Washington state shoreline.