Steinbeck’s Western Flyer Is Back On The Water
“Let Us Go – Doubly Open – Into The Sea of Cortez”
A few weeks ago, we wandered upon a very cool scene in Port Townsend, Washington harbor.
A crowd had formed and there were several media cameras rolling – what was going on we wondered?
We happened upon a ceremony for the launch on John Steinbeck’s boat the Western Flyer, from his book The Sea Of Cortez! He sailed with marine biologist Ed Ricketts.
I love Steinbeck – when I was in Monterey (pics), I wrote:
Last night I opened The Log From The Sea Of Cortez (1941) and, after the homage to Ed Ricketts, was just blown away by the superb Introduction, one of the finest summaries on the scientific method and ways of seeing the world, thinking, travel, and living I’ve come across. Here’s an extended excerpt of that: (read full Steinbeck excerpt)
And his book Travels With Charley In Search Of America was an inspiration for my own travels with Bouy!
The restoration of the Western Flyer was a 7 year ordeal – you can read about it here. The Foundation also has a YouTube channel and there was a lot of media about the launch.
Some pics:
