20 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY november 2-8, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.comwww.montereycountyweekly.com large hatch gave into the fish-hold, and after the hatch were the big turn-table and roller of the purse-seiner.” Before the Western Flyer was found in 1986, it was lost for 70 years, becoming a local legend. Shortly after the trip to the Sea of Cortez and the publication of Steinbeck’s first book about it, the Western Flyer returned to fishing along the Pacific North. But then life happened—Steinbeck divorced (1943) and moved away, Ricketts died (1948), much too early, at the age of 51, after his car was hit by a train. Soon after that, the sardine boom in Monterey was over. Nobody had time to think about the Western Flyer. Fortunately, the 1945 novella Cannery Row, in which Steinbeck immortalized Ricketts as the fictional character Doc, and The Log (published in 1951) inspired generations of upcoming marine biologists. One of them was John Gregg, the founder of the Western Flyer Foundation, who picked up The Log as a child, expecting something of a Jules Verne story. It was quite different but perhaps even more exciting—it was of this world. He always kept the lost boat in mind. “I was a big fan from a very young age of Steinbeck and since I read the story, I got interested in what happened with the boat,” Gregg says, standing on board the Western Flyer, beautifully restored with as many original elements as possible, but also modernized and equipped as a fully-functioning oceanographic research vessel. The boat feels new and clean, but also like something from the old movies—with its elegant woodwork and round windows that makes one think of both submarines and the Orient Express at once. It is freshly swabbed, with plenty of space to sleep and a surprisingly spacious galley for dining. It’s probably much cleaner and much more luxurious (especially technologically) than in 1940, when Steinbeck and Ricketts saw it for the first time. Gregg, who has a geotechnical and environmental sampling business, kept asking about the boat when traveling up and down the coast. “Ports attract old guys with stories,” he says. “I always asked them about the Western Flyer. They always had some theory.” He was one of a few who kept searching. Another man was Bob Enea, a teacher from Monterey, and the nephew of two crewmembers of the 1940 voyage of the Western Flyer. When the boat was finally located, under a different name, in 1986, Enea struggled to raise the funds to buy it. Meanwhile, Salinas developer Gerry Kehoe swooped in and bought it. Kehoe planned to disassemble it and move at least part of it to Salinas to display in the Bruhn Building, which he owned at the time. But the boat languished, in a state of disrepair. Then finally, with mud and barnacles all over, rotten and twice-sunk, this one-time Monterey Bay darling was purchased in 2015 by John Gregg for $1 million. It took $6 million more to bring the vessel back to life. “We had to do 70 years of maintenance at once,” Gregg says—replacing rotten wood, getting a new (but historic) 19th-century steering wheel. The biggest difference is a cutting-edge hybrid electric diesel engine, Paul Tate, the Western Flyer’s captain since April 2023, proudly explains. He is responsible for maintenance, operations and people’s safety on board, including yours on Nov. 4—if you care to tour the historic boat. “Everything white is diesel,” Tate says, presenting a clean and ultra-modern-looking engine, contrasting with the old-fashioned feel of the boat. “The black equipment came from Italy. It’s a high-tech electric drive unit that can push a boat for five hours. And when you are running on diesel, it charges batteries up.” It was Tate who sailed the boat down to Moss Landing from Seattle over a week in the beginning of October, after spending several days in Newport, Oregon, due to the bad weather and a large science community that was interested in seeing the boat. But while everybody wants to see it and many have something to say, the most important question is: What would Steinbeck and Ricketts think and say if they saw the Western Flyer 2.0, several decades and several millions of dollars later, with a modern silent engine, a lab in the fish-hold, a generator for power and 3,000 gallons of fuel stored on board? “They would be wowed,” says Sherry Flumerfelt, executive director of the Western Flyer Foundation. “They were talking about how great it would be to have a lab here.” “I think they would be just astounded,” Tate echoes, looking around the fish-hold, spacious and orderly—no sign of sardines. “They were visionaries and it would be very gratifying for them to see it all. I’m sure they would be happy with the hybrid engine.” Bob Enea found the boat, under a different name, not far from Seattle, in 1986. But he quickly learned that locating it was one thing—being able to buy it back The Western Flyer: A Timeline of the Famous Fishing Vessel 1937 The boat is built in Tacoma, Washington. 1940 Sails to the Sea of Cortez with Ed Ricketts, John Steinbeck, his wife Carol Steinbeck and four crew members on board. 1941-45 It is a working sardine boat in Monterey Bay. 1948 Captain Tony Berry said he sold the boat to Western Boat Building. 1951-52 The boat is registered to Armstrong Fisheries, out of Ketchikan, Alaska as the owner. 1952 Seattle fisherman Dan Luketa buys the Flyer and converts it to a trawler to fish for petrale sole, black cod and ocean perch. He eventually converts it for crab fishing and changes its name to the Gemini. He sells the boat in 1970. 1971-86 Various fishing interests own the boat. 1986 Ole Knudson buys the boat at auction. 1986 Bob Enea of Monterey locates the boat in Anacortes, Washington. He offers to buy it from Knudson and is repeatedly rebuffed. 2011 Salinas developer Gerry Kehoe buys the boat before Enea is able to raise the funds needed. He plans to transport it to Salinas, then display it in the Bruhn Building. 2012-13 The boat, in terrible condition, sinks—twice. The second time, it is underwater for six months. 2015 It is purchased by John Gregg, who founds the nonprofit Western Flyer Foundation. 2020-22 The Western Flyer remains docked in Port Townsend, Washington, for refurbishment. October 2023 The Western Flyer sails to Moss Landing. Efforts continue to create long-term docking at Fisherman’s Wharf. Melanya Nordstrom A crowd gathers at Port Townsend Shipwrights Coop in Washington to bid farewell to the Western Flyer before its October 2023 voyage back to Monterey Bay. The Western Flyer feels new and antique at the same time. Here, it offers a view of Moss Landing Harbor. Daniel Dreifuss
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