Press Contacts
Sherry Flumerfelt
Western Flyer Foundation
sherry@westernflyer.org
(831) 220-8047
Latest Press Releases
-
Western Flyer in Newport: Student Programs, Public Tours, and Waterfront Events
Press Release: The Western Flyer will be in Newport, Oregon, May 15–22 for a week of student programs, free public tours, and community events.
-
Historic Western Flyer Brings Student Programs and Community Events to Charleston and Coos Bay
Press Release: The Western Flyer will visit Charleston and Coos Bay, Oregon, for a week of student programs, free public tours, and community events.
-
Western Flyer Returning to Port Townsend for Student Programs and Community Events
Press Release – The historic fishing vessel Western Flyer will return this spring to Port Townsend, where it underwent a multi-year restoration, for a week-long schedule of student programs and community events.
In the Press
Our Working Waterfront
KPTZ.ORG • 91.9 FM Port Townsend, May 14, 2026Join KPTZ’s Chris Bricker and Port Commissioner Pam Petranek in conversation with Pete Rust of the Port Townsend Shipwrights Co-op, and Captain Paul Tate and Sherry Flumerfelt of the Western Flyer Foundation.
View Full ArticleMade famous by John Steinbeck and painstakingly restored for research, Western Flyer sails into Newport for a week
Lincoln Chronicle | By Dana Tims, May 09, 2026John Gregg, then a 10-year-old kid growing up in rural Georgia, couldn’t wait for the bookmobile to trundle through town every other week. The books he’d grab stoked his love of adventure, science and a world very far from his own.
View Full ArticleWestern Flyer Visits Coos Bay & Charleston
Travel Oregon, May 04, 2026Built in Tacoma in 1937, the Western Flyer became famous when John Steinbeck sailed it to the Gulf of California in 1940. After a meticulous restoration led by the Port Townsend Shipwrights Co-op, the vessel now serves as a platform for ocean science and education.
View Full ArticleMeet sea critters and celebrate science in Charleston
Oregon News, University of Oregon, April 30, 2026University of Oregon employees and families looking for an Oregon Coast getaway will find a boatload of activities May 9 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Charleston Marine Life Center.
View Full ArticleThe historic fishing vessel Western Flyer will return to Port Townsend this spring for a week-long schedule of student programs and community events
48° North Sailing Magazine, April 29, 2026Originally built in Tacoma in 1937, the Western Flyer is best known for carrying John Steinbeck and Ed Ricketts on their 1940 Gulf of California expedition, later chronicled in The Log from the Sea of Cortez.
View Full ArticleSteinbeck boat returns for public tours, educational expedition
Staff, The Leader, April 15, 2026The historic fishing vessel Western Flyer will return this spring to Port Townsend, where it underwent a multiyear restoration, for a week-long schedule of student programs and a free community event.
View Full Article