[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 18 (Tuesday, February 14, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E139]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HONORING CAPTAIN KEVIN C. MURRAY

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. DAVID WU

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 14, 2006

  Mr. WU. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor CAPT Kevin C. Murray, who 
lost his life while performing his duties as a Columbia River bar pilot 
on the night of January 9, 2006.
  Where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean is spectacularly 
beautiful, yet it is also the worst river bar passage in North America. 
Columbia River bar pilots have steered vessels in the lower Columbia 
across the treacherous bar since 1846, making it one of the oldest 
businesses in the Pacific Northwest. This shallow bar has claimed some 
2,000 vessels and 700 lives since the early 19th century.
  During a transfer back to the pilot boat Chinook, in heavy winter 
seas, Captain Murray, 50, a resident of Ilwaco, WA, and Boothbay, ME, 
was thrown into the ocean waters. Despite the valiant efforts of his 
crew, Captain Murray succumbed to the frigid ocean temperatures. He is 
survived by his wife, Lori Stetson Murray, and his mother, Phyllis 
Murray, of Boothbay Harbor, ME.
  Captain Murray was a seasoned, experience scholar of the seas. He 
began his career working on towing vessels, towing semi-submersible oil 
rigs in and out of the Gulf of Mexico. He later captained a 700-foot 
oil tanker, the Blue Ridge, and held an unlimited master's license 
allowing him to captain any size vessel in any waters in the world. He 
had extensive experience in the waters from Alaska to San Francisco, 
resulting in his recruitment by the Columbia River Bar Pilots in 2004. 
Fellow Columbia River bar pilots remember Captain Murray as a wonderful 
person, a strong, silent type, with a quiet, hidden sense of humor.
  I extend my heartfelt condolences to Lori, his wife; Phyllis, his 
mother; and all of his family and friends. This tragic drowning, the 
first loss of a Columbia River bar pilot since 1973, highlights the 
danger that these brave pilots face daily in navigating the Columbia 
River bar, also known as the ``graveyard of the Pacific''. The bar 
pilots navigate cruise ships, U.S. Navy vessels, foreign vessels and 
cargo vessels, inbound and outbound on the Columbia River through the 
bar. Their skills and work are crucial aspects of the economic health 
of the deepwater ports of Oregon and Washington and the livelihood of 
the Pacific Northwest.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise not only to honor Captain Murray, but to honor 
all of his fellow bar pilots on the Columbia River, who stand as their 
own class of heroes of the sea.

                          ____________________