| Career (USA) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | USCGC Columbia (WLV-604) |
| Namesake: | Columbia River |
| Builder: | Rice Brothers Corporation, Boothbay, Maine |
| Launched: | 1950 |
| Commissioned: | 1951 |
| Decommissioned: | 1979 |
| In service: | 1951 |
| Homeport: | Astoria, Oregon |
| Fate: | Sold |
| Status: | Museum ship |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 617 long tons (627 t) |
| Length: | 128 ft (39 m) |
| Beam: | 30 ft (9.1 m) |
| Draft: | 11 ft (3.4 m) |
| Propulsion: | 1 × 550 hp (410 kW) Atlas-Imperial direct reversing 8-cylinder diesel engine |
| Speed: | 10.7 knots (19.8 km/h; 12.3 mph) |
| Complement: |
17 enlisted men, 1 warrant officer [1] |
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Lightship WAL-604, "Columbia"
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| Location: | 1792 Marine Drive, Astoria, Oregon |
| Built: | 1950 |
| Architect: | Rice Brothers |
| Governing body: | Private |
| NRHP Reference#: | 89002463 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP: | December 20, 1989[2] |
| Designated NHL: | December 20, 1989[3] |
United States lightship Columbia (WLV-604) is a lightship located in Astoria, Oregon, United States of America. The Columbia was formerly moored near the mouth of the Columbia River.
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Comissioned in 1951, the Columbia was the fourth and final lightship stationed at the mouth of the Columbia River. Built by Rice Brothers Shipyard in Boothbay, Maine, the Columbia was launched with her sister-ship, the WLV-605. The new WLV-604 replaced the aging Columbia vessel No. 90, which had been in service on the Columbia River since 1939. The Columbia River lightships guided vessels across the Columbia River Bar and an area known as the Graveyard of the Pacific from 1892 until 1979. The Columbia was the final lightship to be decommissioned on the U.S. West coast. She was replaced by an automated navigational buoy soon after. The buoy has since been retired.
Because of its importance, the Coast Guard had a permanent 18 man crew stationed on board, consisting of 17 enlisted men and one Warrant Officer who served as ship's captain. Everything the crew needed had to be on board. In the winter, weeks of rough weather prevented any supplies from being delivered. Life on board the lightship was marked by long stretches of monotony and boredom intermixed with riding gale force storms. The crew of 17 men worked two to four week rotations, with ten men on duty at all times. [4][5]
In 1983, the Columbia was added to the National Register of Historic Places.[6] It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1989 under the name Lightship WAL-604, "Columbia".[3][7] WLV-604 is now located at the Columbia River Maritime Museum, alongside the navigational buoy that replaced her in 1979.
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