The Return of the Western Flyer (1940-2025).
Puerto de Ilusión, La Paz, Baja California Sur, México. 2025.
The fishing vessel Western Flyer began its life in 1937 as part of the famous sardine industry in Monterey Bay, California. Three years later, author John Steinbeck and biologist Ed Ricketts chartered the Flyer for a marine biology expedition to the Gulf of California, documented in the book The Log from the Sea of Cortez (1951). The six-week journey combined science, art, and philosophy, and has continued to inspire generations in the fields of science, conservation, and marine exploration ever since.
By 2015, the Western Flyer had sunk multiple times and was in a state of complete disrepair. Determined to carry on the legacy of Steinbeck and Ricketts, marine geologist John Gregg purchased the vessel. After years of hard work and an award-winning restoration, the Flyer was once again ready for the ocean, and in November 2023, it finally returned to Monterey Bay—equipped to serve in research and education.
Today, the Western Flyer sails again – not as a relic of the past, but as a platform for the future: a floating classroom, a research lab, and a space where science, art and community come together.
Learn more about the #WesternFlyer right here: www.westernflyer.org
