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Press Contacts


Sherry Flumerfelt
Western Flyer Foundation
sherry@westernflyer.org
(831) 220-8047

Latest Press Releases


In the Press


An Update on Our 2027 Gulf of California Expedition

August 18, 2026

The Western Flyer Foundation has made the difficult decision to postpone our planned 2027 Gulf of California expedition. We remain committed to our partners in Mexico and look forward to returning when the timing and resources are right

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Docked in Moss Landing, the Western Flyer wants you to ‘Seas the Summer’

KAZU | By Erika Mahoney, August 14, 2026

KAZU’s Erika Mahoney steps aboard the Western Flyer with Kaitlyn Ponce to explore the vessel’s history and Seas the Summer, our weekend celebration of science, art, and community in Moss Landing.

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The boat John Steinbeck made famous

Cascade PBS | Knute Berger, The Mossback Den, June 30, 2026

Last week a remarkable vessel was in town: the historic Western Flyer, a rescued and refurbished onetime purse seiner built in Tacoma, that famously cruised the Sea of Cortez in Mexico with author John Steinbeck and marine biologist Edward Ricketts aboard.

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The Western Flyer concludes its 2026 visit to the Pacific Northwest

KLCC | By Brianna Bowman, June 22, 2026

Not many fishing boats are immortalized in literature by Nobel-Prize-winning authors. But not all boats are the Western Flyer. Eighty years ago, John Steinbeck described the elegant, wooden fishing vessel.

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Western Flyer

By Steve Mullensky For Peninsula Daily News, May 30, 2026

The Western Flyer, the historic research vessel that became famous after author John Steinbeck chartered it for a research trip in the Sea of Cortez, cruises beneath the towering Mount Baker as she approaches the entrance to Port Townsend Bay on Thursday.

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Our Working Waterfront

KPTZ.ORG • 91.9 FM Port Townsend, May 14, 2026

Join 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.

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