Fall 2025 21 CREDIT TK PHOTOS BY PAT WEBSTER A R T S MARINE SCIENCE author John Steinbeck and his friend biologist Ed Ricketts easily identified as the character “Doc” in Stein- beck’s novel Cannery Row. Steinbeck’s documentation of the trip eventually contributed to the book he co-authored with Ricketts, The Sea of Cortez, from which the better-known The Log from the Sea of Cortez was extracted. After that expedition, the Western Flyer was put to work by many West Coast fisheries from California to Alaska, changing owners and names. For a time, it was lost to history. When it reemerged — twice sunk, dilapidated and waterlogged — in Anacortes, Washington, the Western Flyer Foundation was formed. Now chaired by Tom Keffer, Ph.D. ’80, the group lovingly restored the boat as a platform for research and education.After the restoration was complete, in 2023, the vessel sailed under a new captain, Paul Tate, formerly captain of Oregon State’s research vessel Elakha, to its old (and new) home in Monterey Bay. This March, 85 years nearly to the day after the Steinbeck/Ricketts expedition began, the Western Flyer returned to the Sea of Cortez (also known as the Gulf of California) to retrace the steps of its most famous journey.American and Mexican scientists partnered to plan science and education programs for the trip. The boat stopped at many of the original Ricketts sampling stations, and local communities welcomed the Flyer with celebrations along the way. Students came aboard for education programs. Barth serves on the board of directors of the Western Flyer Foundation, and he helped lead the installation of the vessel’s oceanographic equipment and plan the scientific aspects of the voyage. Aboard, he collected information about water temperature, dissolved oxygen, light penetration, salinity and more. He intends to compare his findings with the data collected by Rickets 85 years ago. “One thing that I try to get across to people is the sounds of the vessel,” he says. “There’s one phrase in the book about the wind going through the forward stay of the boat sounding like a deep organ note, but there’s hundreds of other tones, too — the wood shifting and creaking, and the slapping of the water. It’s a totally amazing experience.” For Barth, the trip was about connection to the past, and optimism for the future. He recalls the first time he stood on the bridge during the boat’s restoration. “I literally got a tingle down the back of my neck,” he says. Oregonians interested in seeing the Western Flyer in person should stay tuned: Barth says he hopes to organize a visit to Newport and other Oregon ports in spring of 2026. In the meantime, follow the boat’s adventures at westernflyer.org. ← FAR LEFT: The Western Flyer in the Sea of Cortez. TOP: Jack Barth talks with students. BOTTOM: Adrian MunguíaVega, the Mexican lead scientist for the expedition, with Barth. PRAx ANNOUNCES NEW SEASON The Patricia Valian Reser Center for the Creative Arts has announced its 2025–26 season, which features an increased slate of events and exhibitions to keep its many venues booked and busy. Standout events include performances by artist-in-residence, percussionist and steel pan musician Andy Akiho, along with several performances and lectures exploring the season’s theme of “Arts + AI.” PRAx hosted about 160 events in its inaugural 2024–25 season. Center staff had projected they would sell 19,000 tickets in their first year. As of June, they were on track to sell more than 32,000. With many events selling out, one of the main goals of the new season was to expand ticket offerings so more people can experience more art, and to maintain a good balance between content that is joyful and content that is meaningful, said Peter Betjemann, Patricia Valian Reser executive director of the center and associate vice provost of arts and humanities. “Variety is the lifeblood of PRAx; no doubt about it,” Betjemann said. “We ask people to step outside of their comfort zone. If we can get someone to try out a genre of music they haven’t tried, at least once per year, that’s great.” Learn more and buy tickets at prax.oregonstate.edu. —Molly Rosbach → Harry Yeff’s Voice Gems visualizes the human voice. See him perform on Oct. 3 at PRAx.
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