The ''Western Flyer'' is a

fishing boat A fishing vessel is a boat or ship used to catch fish in the sea, or on a lake or river. Many different kinds of vessels are used in commercial, artisanal and recreational fishing. The total number of fishing vessels in the world in 2016 was es ...

, most known for its use by

John Steinbeck John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. (; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer and the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature winner "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social ...

and

Ed Ricketts Edward Flanders Robb Ricketts (May 14, 1897 – May 11, 1948) was an American marine biologist, ecologist, and philosopher. He is best known for ''Between Pacific Tides'' (1939), a pioneering study of intertidal ecology. He is also known as a men ...

in their 1940 expedition to the

Gulf of California The Gulf of California ( es, Golfo de California), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Bermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja Ca ...

, the notes from which culminated in their 1941 book ''Sea of Cortez'', later reworked by Steinbeck into ''

The Log from the Sea of Cortez ''The Log from the Sea of Cortez'' is an English-language book written by American author John Steinbeck and published in 1951. It details a six-week (March 11 – April 20) marine specimen-collecting boat expedition he made in 1940 at vario ...

'' (1951). Called the "most famous fishing vessel ever to have sailed," the ''Western Flyer'' is currently being restored in

Port Townsend, WA Port Townsend is a city on the Quimper Peninsula in Jefferson County, Washington, United States. The population was 10,148 at the 2020 United States Census. It is the county seat and only incorporated city of Jefferson County. In addition to ...

. The Western Flyer Foundation was formed in its honor with the goal of educating youth about the intersection of science and literature.

Construction

The ''Western Flyer'' was built in Tacoma, WA in 1937 by the Western Boat Building Company, owned by Martin Petrich. Petrich partnered with brothers Tony and Frank Berry to build the seiner, which is made from old-growth fir. It was designed specifically for the

Monterey, California Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bo ...

sardine fishery, with the capability of heading to Alaska annually for salmon. On July 3, 1937, the Flyer was completed.

Steinbeck and the Sea of Cortez

Steinbeck and ''Ed Ricketts'' chartered the ''Western Flyer'' in 1940 for a voyage to the

Sea of Cortez The Gulf of California ( es, Golfo de California), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Bermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja C ...

. The Flyer was captained by Anton "Tony" Berry, with crew members Tex Travis, Horace "Sparky" Enea, and "Tiny" Colletto. Steinbeck's wife, Carol, was also on board for the excursion. They embarked on March 11, 1940, from Monterey. Along the coast, Steinbeck and Ricketts collected specimens, logging their observations, many of which were included in "The Log". The journey ended on April 16, 1940, in San Diego, CA, after a journey of 4,000 miles.

After Steinbeck

Following Steinbeck's voyage, the ship was returned to its main purpose: fishing. Over the ensuing years it was used to harvest

sardine "Sardine" and "pilchard" are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring family Clupeidae. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century, a folk etymology says it comes from the Ital ...

perch Perch is a common name for fish of the genus ''Perca'', freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which three species occur in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Percif ...

, and

crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...

, angling from California to Alaska's

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a cha ...

Discovery and refurbishment

In 1983 Bob Enea, the nephew of Tony Berry, began a search for the ''Western Flyer'' which had been renamed the ''Gemini''. Enea discovered the boat in

Anacortes, Washington Anacortes ( ) is a city in Skagit County, Washington, United States. The name "Anacortes" is an adaptation of the name of Anne Curtis Bowman, who was the wife of early Fidalgo Island settler Amos Bowman. His attempts to purchase the boat from owner Ole Knudson were rebuffed until 1993 when Knudson decided to retire from fishing and offered to sell the ship to Enea for $100,000. Enea established the non-profit Western Flyer Project to raise money to purchase the vessel. The publicity generated by the announcement of the ''Western Flyers discovery attracted the attention of real estate developer Gerry Kehoe who immediately purchased the boat from Knudson over Enea's objections, announcing plans to move it to Salinas where it would be placed in

drydock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

as the centerpiece of a new theme restaurant. Twice in 2012 the boat sprang leaks and sank, being refloated each time. After the second sinking, Kehoe transported the boat from Anacortes to

Port Townsend, Washington Port Townsend is a city on the Quimper Peninsula in Jefferson County, Washington, United States. The population was 10,148 at the 2020 United States Census. It is the county seat and only incorporated city of Jefferson County. In addition to ...

to undergo refurbishment in preparation for relocation to Salinas. In early 2015 the boat was sold to John Gregg for a reported $1,000,000. Gregg enlisted Port Townsend Shipwrights Co-Op to restore the vessel to its historic glory, while exceeding modern safety, technological, and environmental standards. The vessel will include a custom ROV, designed by Gregg, that resembles a

nautilus The nautilus (, ) is a pelagic marine mollusc of the cephalopod family Nautilidae. The nautilus is the sole extant family of the superfamily Nautilaceae and of its smaller but near equal suborder, Nautilina. It comprises six living species in t ...

. In 2016, The Western Flyer Foundation was established with the mission to empower students in under-served communities with a fusion of science and literature, inspired by the experiences of Steinbeck and Ricketts. Students will participate in the collection of real data, implementing a

citizen science Citizen science (CS) (similar to community science, crowd science, crowd-sourced science, civic science, participatory monitoring, or volunteer monitoring) is scientific research conducted with participation from the public (who are sometimes re ...

approach.

Restoration of the Western Flyer in September 2019

On June 29, 2022, ''Western Flyer'' was relaunched after its restoration at Port Townsend was completed, and towed to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

to receive a new

hybrid engine A hybrid vehicle is one that uses two or more distinct types of power, such as submarines that use diesel when surfaced and batteries when submerged. Other means to store energy include pressurized fluid in hydraulic hybrids. The basic princip ...

and further outfit, before returning to Monterey.

References

External link

The Western Flyer Foundation
{{John Steinbeck, state=collapsed John Steinbeck National Register of Historic Places in Jefferson County, Washington Ships on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state) Ships built in Tacoma, Washington Ships built by the Western Boat Building Company 1937 ships