Field Notes

Screening and discussion with educators about Benjamin Franklin’s impact on America. James Floss leads a panel discussion with historians from Cal Poly Humboldt and Cal State Chico, and a middle school engineering and science teacher. Frankly Franklin is live and online May 17 at 6 p.m. Register online to and join the conversation with your questions. KEET.org. Homesharing Info Session. 9:30-10 a.m. and 9:30-10 a.m. This informational Zoom session will go over the steps and safeguards of Area 1 Agency on Aging’s matching process and the different types of homeshare partnerships. Email Julie at homeshare@a1aa.org for the link. Free. www.a1aa.org/homesharing. 442-3763. Humboldt Bounskee League. 6-8 p.m. Humboldt Brews, 856 10th St., Arcata. Weekly league nights. Purchase of any wood bounskee from Humbrews or the website includes one-month family membership for future events. All ages. Free. bounskee@gmail.com. bounskee.fun. 601-9492. Tabata. 5:30-6:30 p.m. Virtual World, Online. See May 13 listing.

17 Tuesday

Shelter Cove Farmers’ Market. 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Mario’s Marina Bar, 533 Machi Road, Shelter Cove. Fresh fruits and vegetables, flowers and premium plant starts and more. Live music and hot food vendors. Free. info@ northcoastgrowersassociation.org. www.northcoastgrowersassociation.org/sheltercove.html. 441-9999.

MEETINGS

Humboldt Cribbage Club Tournament. 6:15-9 p.m. Moose Lodge, 4328 Campton Road, Eureka. Weekly six-game cribbage tournament for experienced players. Inexperienced players may watch, learn and play on the side. Moose dinner available at 5:30 p.m. Contact venue for current COVID protocols. $3-$8. 31for14@gmail.com. 599-4605.

ETC

English Express: An English Language Class for Adults.

Ongoing. Virtual World, Online. See May 12 listing. Restorative Movement. 10:30-11:30 a.m. & 2-3 p.m. Virtual World, Online. See May 12 listing.

18 Wednesday

Figure Drawing. 6-8:30 p.m. Blondies Food And Drink, 420 E. California Ave., Arcata. $5. www.blondiesfoodanddrink.com.

BOOKS

On the Same Page Book Club. 5:30 p.m. Virtual World, Online. Online book club that meets on the first Wednesday of the month on Zoom. Sign up using the Google form at www.forms.gle/bAsjdQ7hKGqEgJKj7.

MOVIES

Sci-Fi Night: Zardoz (1974). 6-9 p.m. Arcata Theatre Lounge, 1036 G St. Pre-show at 6 p.m. Raffle at 7:10 p.m. Main feature at 7:15 p.m. Admission grants you one raffle ticket for a chance to win science fiction prizes. Contact venue for current COVID protocols. $5. info@ arcatatheatre.com. 613-3030.

MUSIC

Anika w/Maria Minerva. 7:30 p.m.-1 a.m. The Miniplex, 900 Samoa Blvd., Arcata. ANIKA, the project of Berlin-based musician Annika Henderson. Contact venue for current COVID protocols. $18, $15 advance. richardsgoat@gmail.com. 630-5000. Bayside Ballads and Blues. 6-8 p.m. Clam Beach Tavern, 4611 Central Ave., McKinleyville. Every Wednesday. Contact venue for current COVID protocols.

ELECTIONS

KEET TV, Channel 13, Humboldt. See May 16 listing.

EVENTS

Fortuna Chamber Murder Mystery Dinner. 5:30 p.m. North Coast Hitching Post, 2190 Table Bluff Road, Loleta. A mystery fundraiser with live music, a silent auction, buffet-style dinner, no-host bar, photo station and more. Get tickets online. $75. www.fortunachamber. com/fortuna-shop/annual-dinner.

FOOD

Nordic Aquafarms’ Open Zoom. 12:30-1:30 p.m. An open Zoom meeting to ask questions and discuss the proposed Nordic Aquafarms project. satkinssalazar@gmail.com. us02web.zoom.us/j/82606727970.

GARDEN

Sea Goat Farm Garden Volunteer Opportunities. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Abbey of the Redwoods, 1450 Hiller Road, McKinleyville. See May 13 listing.

ETC

English Express: An English Language Class for Adults.

Ongoing. Virtual World, Online. See May 12 listing. Tabata. 5:30-6:30 p.m. Virtual World, Online. See May 13 listing. Trivia Night. Every other Wednesday, 6-8 p.m. The Madrone Taphouse, 421 Third St., Eureka. Reel Genius Trivia hosts. Contact venue for current COVID protocols. Free. www.reelgeniustrivia.com.

19 Thursday

ART

Art Night at the Sanctuary. Third Thursday of every month, 4-7 p.m. The Sanctuary, 1301 J St., Arcata. Create with others freely or work on a guided project. Bring your own supplies or use what’s around to collage, paint, draw, make an art book, etc. $5-$20 suggested, no one turned away for lack of funds. www.sanctuaryarcata.org.

MUSIC

Americana Music. 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Grind Cafe, 734 Fifth St., Eureka. See May 12 listing. Rose City Band, Meg Baird. 8 p.m.-1 a.m. The Miniplex, 900 Samoa Blvd., Arcata. Country-rock twang. Contact venue for current COVID protocols. $15 advance, $10 early bird. richardsgoat@gmail.com. 630-5000.

THEATER

The Rocky Horror Show. 8 p.m. Ferndale Repertory Theatre, 447 Main St. A rock musical sci-fi/horror spoof. For ages 16 and up. Through June 21. www. ferndalerep.org.

FOOD

Volunteer Orientation Food for People. 3-4 p.m. See May 12 listing.

MEETINGS

Ujima Parent Peer Support. 6:30-7:30 p.m. Virtual World, Online. See May 12 listing. Virtual Whiteness Accountability Space. Noon-1 p.m. Virtual World, Online. See May 12 listing.

OUTDOORS

Eureka Bike-to-Work Day. 7-9:30 a.m. North Coast Co-op, Eureka, 25 Fourth St. Stop by the Energizer Station to enjoy free snacks, coffee and get a bike safety check from Adventure’s Edge. Sit back and relax with a free chair massage. Free. stephen.luther@hcaog. net. www.lovetoride.net/humboldt/pages/info?locale=en-US&page=3_events. 444-8208.

ETC

English Express: An English Language Class for Adults.

Ongoing. Virtual World, Online. See May 12 listing. Restorative Movement. 10:30-11:30 a.m. & 2-3 p.m. Virtual World, Online. See May 12 listing. l The Madaket’s former incarnation as the Nellie C.

Courtesy of the Humboldt Bay Maritime Museum

M/V Madaket: 112 Years Young

By Barry Evans

fieldnotes@northcoastjournal.com

“The ship wherein Theseus and the youth of Athens returned from Crete had 30 oars and was preserved by the Athenians down even to the time of Demetrius Phalereus, for they took away the old planks as they decayed, putting in new and stronger timber in their places. [Philosophers argued,] one side holding that the ship remained the same, and the other contending that it was not the same.” — Plutarch, AD 46-119

If you think you’re the same person as you were 10 years ago — despite every cell in your body having been swapped out for a brand spanking new one — you’ll probably agree that Theseus’ “new” ship is still the same as the original one. And, getting to my point (finally!), you’ll allow that the motor vessel Madaket that takes tourists on sightseeing cruises around the bay is still the same old Nellie C, under a different name, that launched from Fairhaven on June 6, 1910.

First, a little history. In 1909, Capt. Henry Cousins commissioned six passenger boats to service the then thriving lumber industry around Humboldt Bay. Named for a member of Cousins’ family, the Nellie C, along with five sister boats, carried up to 1,500 workers every day to the Hammond Lumber Mill and Fairhaven Shipyard on Samoa peninsula from the east side of the bay, with side trips to Table Bluff, Arcata and Fields Landing. The ferries ran nearly nonstop 24/7, only pausing for a respite between 2:30 and 6 a.m. When Henry Cousins got out of the business in 1931, Walter Coggeshall’s Launch & Towboat Co. took over his boats. Coggeshall renamed the small fleet of launches (as they were called) after Native American tribes, at which time Nellie C became Madaket, after the Mawtukkit people who lived near present-day Nantucket, Massachusetts.

More ownership changes followed until 1971, when the triple-span Samoa Bridge opened. Workers could now drive to the mills in less time than it took the Madaket and the only other remaining launch of the original six, the Sallie C (aka Quidnet), to motor across the bay. Businessman Bob Imperiale (of Imperiale Square on Second Street) bought the Madaket and by the following year, the ferryboat had been transformed into a harbor cruise boat. A decade later, the boat’s present owners the Humboldt Bay Maritime Museum bought it, although, like any old wooden vessel, much maintenance work was needed.

Fortunately, help was at hand. Bill Zerlang (whose woodworking hobby became his business Wooden Willie’s Cabinet Shop) and his son Leroy banded together with like-minded conservationists to raise the money to preserve the Madaket. For nearly a year, under the direction of master shipwright Ed Frey of Fortuna, the boat was torn apart and rebuilt with new Douglas fir timbers, a real-life Ship of Theseus. Relaunched in 1990, the Madaket has since carried tens of thousands of locals and tourists around Humboldt Bay. Bill Zerlang died in 2003 at age 90, but Leroy, his wife Dalene, son Cody and a loyal crew are keeping alive the tradition of boats on the bay, a fact that might have surprised Captain Cousins.

The Madaket is distinguished in many ways. In addition to being the last survivor of Humboldt Bay’s ferries, the boat is home to the smallest licensed bar in California and is the oldest passenger vessel in the U.S. For information about scheduled cruises, come down to “C” dock (next to Jack’s Seafood, on the boardwalk) or call 445-1910. You won’t regret it. l Barry Evans (he/him, barryevans9@ yahoo.com) came to a compromise with his editor over the gender of the Madaket (she/her, it/its).