A captain retires after a lifetime on the water

Jun. 30—It was Kenneth Haglund's last ride as a captain with the Columbia River Pilots. He decided to take it with his son.

They anchored in Kalama, Washington. Behind their boat, a rainbow stretched across the river Haglund had sailed on his whole life.

"After 38 years and then a deal like this here happened there," Haglund said, pointing to a photo of the scene. "It doesn't happen to everybody, but it happened to us."

Haglund has retired from the river pilots after a lifetime of working on the water. He said leaving the job is tough. He's going to miss the fun he had doing something unique every day.

Haglund grew up surrounded by water — literally. The 10th child in a family of 14, he spent his childhood in a float house in Astoria.

With his father working as a gillnet fisherman and his uncle working on a pilot boat, Haglund naturally fell into the maritime business.

He started off employed as a deckhand with Knappton Towboat Co., eventually working his way up to being a captain. After completing arduous training, he became a licensed river pilot with the Columbia River Pilots in 1985.

Since he began, the river has gotten much busier, bustling with ships that are larger than ever. "There's more safety issues happening all the time," he said.

To cope with these new challenges, the river pilots adopted a computer program to navigate. Haglund felt comfortable without the technology's guidance, since he had developed such a vast knowledge of the river, but later found it useful.

"He took his first trip on it, and he came back, and he says, 'I will never get on a ship again without this computer,'" Cindy Haglund, his wife, said.

Being a river pilot can be dangerous.

Haglund said what he does differently than some pilots is he remains standing most of the time to stay alert. "I always stand up, look, pay attention, walk around, keep my mind associated with what's happening," he said.

The most rewarding part of his job has been working with his colleagues. "We have a group of people that are just the best at what we do," he said.

Elroy Olson, a captain with the Columbia River Pilots, has been a friend and co-worker to Haglund since 1974 when they worked on tugboats together. Haglund influenced him to become a pilot, he said.

Haglund has been dedicated to the river his whole career. The river system is losing a lot of experience with his retirement, Olson said.

Olson said he will miss meeting Haglund on the river and talking with him after work. Haglund told Olson he could always call him if he needed something, even if it's the middle of the night.

"We're losing a great asset," he said.

However, Haglund said the Columbia River Pilots will do well without him because of newer technology and rigorous training programs that have improved over time.

"The pilots are better than they've ever been before," he said.