Isle of Portland

Coordinates: 50°33′00″N 2°26′24″W / 50.550°N 2.440°W / 50.550; -2.440

The Isle of Portland is a limestone tied island, 6 kilometres (4 mi) long by 2.7 kilometres (1.7 mi) wide, in the English Channel. Portland is 8 kilometres (5 mi) south of the resort of Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A barrier beach over which runs the A354 road connects it to Chesil Beach and the mainland. Portland and Weymouth together form the borough of Weymouth and Portland. The population of Portland is 12,400.

Portland is a central part of the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site on the Dorset and east Devon coast, important for its geology and landforms. Its name is used for one of the British Sea Areas, and has been exported as the name of North American and Australian towns. Portland stone, famous for its use in British and world architecture, including St Paul's Cathedral and the United Nations Headquarters, continues to be quarried.

Portland Harbour, in between Portland and Weymouth, is one of the largest man-made harbours in the world. The harbour was made by the building of stone breakwaters between 1848 and 1905. From its inception it was a Royal Navy base, and played prominent roles during the First and Second World Wars; ships of the Royal Navy and NATO countries worked up and exercised in its waters until 1995. The harbour is now a civilian port and popular recreation area, and was used for the 2012 Olympic Games.

Portland (steam tug 1875)

The Portland was a steam tug built in Portland, Oregon, United States. This vessel was also known as Clayoquat and Phoenix.

Career

Portland was launched on April 9, 1875 in Portland, Oregon. The vessel was operated for 15 years on the Columbia and Willamette Rivers, and then was transferred to Puget Sound. From 1891 to 1895, the Portland operated out of Everett, Washington, piloted by Captain James Hastings.

Drift and recovery

In 1897, the Portland was hauled out at Ballard, Washington, for repairs. Somehow she broke free from the shipway and floated off unoccupied. Eventually, the Portland drifted north into Canadian waters, where she was recovered as a derelict by the B.C. Salvage Company. She came under the control of R.P. Rithet and Company, a prominent British Columbia shipping concern that repurposed her to a passenger steamer. She was renamed Clayoquat and ran on passenger routes out of Port Renfrew, on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Clayoquat later passed to the H.Bell-Irving Company, and was used by them as a cannery tender under the name Phoenix.

Portland (album)

Portland is a studio album by Kevin Burke and Mícheál Ó Domhnaill, released in 1982 by Green Linnet Records (SIF 1041). This is the second and final album by this duo who first played together with the popular Irish traditional group The Bothy Band.

Background

Mícheál Ó Domhnaill co-founded the popular Irish traditional group The Bothy Band in 1974, along with Paddy Glackin (fiddle), Matt Molloy (flute and tin whistle), Paddy Keenan (uilleann pipes and tin whistle), Dónal Lunny (bouzouki, guitar, and production), and his sister Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill (harpsichord, clavinet and vocals). Ó Domhnaill met Kevin Burke when Burke replaced Glackin in the Bothy Band in May 1976. In the five years the Bothy Band were together, they emerged as one of the most exciting groups in the history of Irish traditional music. Much of their repertoire was rooted in the traditional music of Ireland, and their enthusiasm and musical virtuosity set a standard for future Irish traditional performers. They recorded three studio albums during their brief career: The Bothy Band (1975), Old Hag You Have Killed Me (1976), and Out of the Wind – Into the Sun (1977). A live album After Hours was released in 1979, the year the group disbanded.

Olsen (surname)

Olsen Danish pronunciation: [ˈoːˀlsn̩] is a Danish-Norwegian patronymic surname meaning "son of Ole". The surname Olesen Danish pronunciation: [ˈoːləsn] has a similar origin. The Swedish parallel form is Olsson - "son of Ola". Danish and Norwegian immigrants to English-speaking countries often changed the spelling to Olson in order to accommodate English orthographic rules.

Notable people with the surname include: