Western Flyer (boat) facts for kids
The Western Flyer is a famous fishing boat. It is best known for a special trip taken in 1940 by writer John Steinbeck and scientist Ed Ricketts. They explored the Gulf of California (also called the Sea of Cortez). Their notes from this adventure became a well-known book called The Log from the Sea of Cortez. The Western Flyer is about 77 feet long and is sometimes called "the most famous fishing vessel ever to have sailed." Today, it is being carefully restored in Port Townsend, WA. A group called the Western Flyer Foundation was created to honor the boat. Their main goal is to teach young people about how science and literature can connect.
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Building the Western Flyer
The Western Flyer was built in 1937 in Tacoma, Washington. It was made by the Western Boat Building Company, owned by Martin Petrich. Petrich worked with brothers Tony and Frank Berry to create this fishing boat. It was made from strong, old-growth fir wood. The boat was designed especially for catching sardines in Monterey, California. It could also travel all the way to Alaska each year to catch salmon. The Western Flyer was finished on July 3, 1937.
Steinbeck's Adventure to the Sea of Cortez
In 1940, John Steinbeck and Ed Ricketts rented the Western Flyer for an exciting journey. They sailed to the Sea of Cortez. The boat's captain was Anton "Tony" Berry. The crew included Tex Travis, Horace "Sparky" Enea, and "Tiny" Colletto. Steinbeck's wife, Carol, also joined them on this trip.
They started their adventure on March 11, 1940, from Monterey, California. As they sailed along the coast, Steinbeck and Ricketts collected many different plants and animals. They wrote down all their observations. Many of these notes were later used in their book, "The Log." Their long journey covered 4,000 miles and ended on April 16, 1940, in San Diego, California.
Life After Steinbeck's Trip
After John Steinbeck's famous voyage, the Western Flyer went back to its main job: fishing. For many years, it was used to catch sardines, perch, and crab. It fished in waters from California all the way up to Alaska's Aleutian Islands.
Finding and Fixing the Western Flyer
In 1983, a man named Bob Enea, who was Tony Berry's nephew, started looking for the Western Flyer. The boat had been renamed the Gemini. Enea found the boat in Anacortes, Washington in 1986. It was still working as a fishing boat. He tried to buy it from its owner, Ole Knudson, but Knudson didn't want to sell.
Finally, in 1993, Knudson decided to stop fishing. He offered to sell the boat to Enea for $100,000. Enea started a group called the Western Flyer Project to raise money. News about the Western Flyer's discovery got a lot of attention. A real estate developer named Gerry Kehoe heard about it. He quickly bought the boat from Knudson, even though Enea wanted it. Kehoe planned to move the boat to Salinas. He wanted to put it in a drydock as the main attraction for a new restaurant.
In 2012, the boat had problems twice. It sprang leaks and sank, but it was brought back to the surface each time. After the second time it sank, Kehoe moved the boat from Anacortes to Port Townsend, Washington. It was going to be fixed up there before moving to Salinas.
In early 2015, the boat was sold to John Gregg for about $1,000,000. Gregg hired a company called Port Townsend Shipwrights Co-Op to restore the boat. They are working to make it look like it did in the past. They are also making sure it meets modern safety, technology, and environmental rules. The boat will even have a special underwater robot, called an ROV, designed by Gregg. It will look like a nautilus.
In 2016, the Western Flyer Foundation was created. This group wants to help students, especially those in communities that don't have many resources. They want to teach kids about science and literature, just like Steinbeck and Ricketts learned on their trip. Students will get to collect real scientific information. This is part of a "citizen science" approach, where everyday people help with scientific research.
 | May Edward Chinn |
 | Rebecca Cole |
 | Alexa Canady |
 | Dorothy Lavinia Brown |
