Category: Boats

John Steinbeck’s boat, five years on

Almost five years ago I first posted about Western Flyer, a boat with an interesting provenance as a vessel chartered by author John Steinbeck and marine biologist/ecologist Ed Ricketts in a seminal research exploration of the Gulf of California in 1940. The voyage became the basis of a book they co-authored, “The Log from the Sea of Cortez.” The boat had fallen on hard times, as illustrated in my first photos, taken in 2013, and reposted last year. Its fate was in flux until the Western Flyer Foundation was formed and intervened to save it.

Western Flyer has been housed at Port Townsend Shipwright’s Co-Op where the Western Flyer Foundation has been undertaking its restoration. When I’d seen it last, almost a year ago, it was much improved and plans were afoot to retrieve white oak lumber to replace rotted wood.

When I saw Western Flyer again last week new lumber was coming into place.

You can see replacement wood both on deck and inside the hull. There’s a lot of work to be done but the Foundation also has high hopes for the boat’s future to continue as an education and research vessel.

Waterfront scenes

In Port Townsend this week we glanced down to the water to see Lady Washington sailing into town, obviously under power. The original Lady Washington had a long history of maritime firsts in the 18th century, including the first flagged U.S. vessel to round Cape Horn, circumnavigate Vancouver Island, and reach Japan.

The replica shown here was built in 1989 and is the Washington State ship and the state’s “Tall Ship Ambassador.” Click here to see her under sail and to learn more about her interesting history.

Not far from Lady Washington the scene was filled with maritime activity. The Port Townsend-Coupeville ferry was arriving, as was a float plane. In the lower right is a small power boat. And in the distance beyond the ferry was a sailboat. All in all it was an assortment of just about anything that floats your boat.

Rest in peace, Sunnfjord

I posted photos of the fishing vessel Sunnfjord twice last summer. I happened upon her in the boatyard in Port Townsend as she was getting spruced up. I posted the above shot in August.

This is how she looked last June.

Our local Peninsula Daily News reported early this month that Sunnfjord sank on January 31st in the Pacific Ocean, off Cape Alava. She was reported taking on water. Her very lucky crew of five fishermen were rescued by the Coast Guard.

The rescue effort sounded dramatic as three good Samaritan vessels, two Coast Guard cutters, two Coast Guard Motor Life Boat crews, and a Coast Guard MH-65 dolphin helicopter stood by while the Sunnfjord crew attempted to dewater using pumps provided by the Coast Guard. In the end Sunnfjord lost its main engine, water continued to rise, and the crew had to abandon ship. Sunnfjord sank in an estimated 300 feet of water.

Ships and boats sink for myriad of reasons. We don’t always get to know the story and welcome the mariners back to land.