The entrance to Humboldt Bay has become dangerous for fishing boats and impassable for larger ships, thanks to winter conditions that created massive shoals off the jetties. Two or three cargo ships have already been turned away, said Harbor District CEO Jack Crider, and another chip ship is due April 20. It’s unclear if that […]
Humboldt Bay
Posted inNews
TL;DR: Five Things You Need to Know about Derelict Boats on Humboldt Bay
Busy week? We get it. Let us get you afloat of this week’s main story. Here are some highlights from “That Sinking Feeling.” The February sinking of the Dennis Gayle represented a small victory in an ongoing problem: derelict boats on Humboldt Bay. When the Gayle’s sister ship the Allen Cody sank in 2008, hundreds […]
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Humboldt Bay to Turn Red in Name of Science
Some water testing next week may leave those in and around Humboldt Bay seeing red. The California Department of Public Health and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that they will begin a series of water tests March 14 that will include dumping a non-toxic, fluorescent red dye — Rhodamine WT — into the […]
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Parklets Waiting for Droplets to Stop
Those parklets, the tiny, public, Old Town outdoor spaces that were supposed to be completed in September, got held up a little, but we’re assured they’re on their way. Eureka Community Development Director Rob Holmlund says the parklet plans for two of the four participating businesses have been approved by the city. Ramone’s Bakery owner […]
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Kinetic Race Gets Wet, Photographs from the Front Lines
Things got downright damp Sunday, as the Kinetic Sculpture Race’s second day began with the ever feared water entry. Some sculptures launched, where others merely wobbled and tipped, before a lively crowd near Eureka’s Wharfinger Building. The first waves of racers are expected to approach the finish line on Ferndale’s Main Street at about 1 […]
Posted inStories
Shell Game
We are skidding through the water of Humboldt Bay, the dock of Coast Seafoods receding behind us as we head toward the oyster fields. It’s a crisp morning, with the gray-blue water and navy sky colluding to form a rim of bright silver at the horizon. “Everyone should know what a good oyster looks and […]
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Survey your sins
Ah, the magical storm drain. Alligators live down there, we know, and escapees, and gourmand rats — fantastical beings swimming around in lurksome joy. Plus, of course, all that junk you’ve let wash into it, too: pet poop, cigarette butts, wrappers, caps, oil, chemicals and other detritus that drifts from fingers, drips off cars and […]
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Batten Down the Hatches
The North Coast is about to be battered with bad weather — exciting, we know, and California needs water — but that means dangerous conditions for the outdoors-minded among us. High surf, strong winds and lots of rain are expected to land tonight and continue through late Thursday/early Friday. The National Weather Service issued a […]
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UPDATED: Official: Sewage Spill Won’t Spoil Oysterfest
Friday afternoon, on the eve of Oysterfest, the Humboldt Community Services District dropped a bombshell of a press release, alerting the public that a massive sewage spill occurred in the Humboldt Hill area and that some may have flowed into Humboldt Bay, spurring the California Department of Public Health to halt oyster harvests as of […]
Posted inStories
Backyard of Boats
Cody Hills leans back in the stern of the small boat owned by Humboldt Baykeeper, which is zipping north through the Eureka channel of Humboldt Bay. He looks as relaxed as if he were reclining on his living-room couch. Around him the water crinkles and winks, like smoothed-out foil gift wrap. Two frothy white tracks […]
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Train Coming?
The Upstate RailConnect Committee got thrown quite a curveball at its recent meeting in Weaverville. The committee, a working group of representatives from Humboldt, Tehama and Trinity counties and other interested parties, has been working for a couple of years now on figuring how to cobble together some $300,000 for a massive study to determine […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Bay [T]rail Update No. 9 + CCT
I have a new favorite book. Well, it’s not that new and it’s not a real book. I just discovered online the 170-page report called “Humboldt County Coastal Trail Implementation Strategy,” published in January 2011. It’s about the dream of being able to transport yourself, sans car, along the California Coastal Trail in Humboldt County […]