After a thorough restoration, The Western Flyer has officially set sail for Monterey.

Agata Popęda here, thinking about The Western Flyer—the fishing boat that took John Steinbeck, Ed Ricketts and other crew members on their journey to Baja—which is now officially on its way back to Monterey Bay after an extensive renovation project in Port Townsend, Washington.

In exactly one month—at 11am on Saturday, Nov. 4—you can greet this famous old sardine boat at Monterey’s Fisherman’s Wharf. It’s been 75 years since its last visit here, so it is only proper that it will be escorted to the dock by a boat parade, led by Monterey’s fire boat, “The Pearl.” Expect it at the California Dock, at the end of Fisherman’s Wharf.

“We are beyond thrilled,” says Sherry Flumerfelt on behalf of the Western Flyer Foundation. “This day means a lot to a lot of people. So many people are connected to the story.”

The Western Flyer connected art (writer John Steinbeck) and science (marine biologist Ed Ricketts), serving both friends in their 1940 expedition to the Gulf of California (a trip immortalized in Steinbeck’s The Log from the Sea of Cortez (1951)). They were not the only passengers on the boat, which—according to Flumerfelt—has room for about 15 people. The others were captain Tony Berry and the crew members: Tex Travis, Sparky Enea and Tiny Colletto, plus Steinbeck’s wife, Carol.

That’s why the boat is important not only to Steinbeck scholars and not only to Ricketts scholars, but also to local fishermen and their families, who orally passed down the story of this famous voyage that took place a year-and-a-half before the U.S. joined World War II. 

Offspring of those who were on The Western Flyer will be celebrating with the local community; the Ricketts family is planning a big reunion. The foundation has been waiting for the day the boat returns to Monterey since it began working on the project in 2016.

Western Flyer has been through a lot. After the Gulf of California trip it served as a sardine boat, a crab boat and even a research vessel (which is also part of its envisioned future). But it was also lost for years, then renamed Gemini—can you believe that?—and almost chopped into pieces to be used as restaurant decor. Another time it sank for six months.

But despite this inglorious past, The Western Flyer is now expected to have a glorious future thanks to the Western Flyer Foundation. The group has ambitious plans, both for the boat and the community. Think science meets art—just how this adventure started.

Read more about the programs the foundation has in mind, and learn what exactly will happen on the festive day of Nov. 4, in a future issue of the Weekly. For now, let’s just say that if you ever wondered how it feels to be on board The Western Flyer, your dream might come true quite soon.

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