Insider's Guide - Locals share their favorite places & activities in Humboldt County

A celebration one hundred years in the making

The oldest vessel in Humboldt Bay greeted its 100th birthday this year with fanfare, champagne and a water-borne parade led by the old boat itself — the Madaket. 

The Madaket, originally named the Nellie C., was launched June 6, 1910, and after 100 years of work as a passenger ferry and a cruise boat, the vessel donned a birthday hat and led about 15 other ships through the bay on parade.

Since its original launch date, the ship has been through five engines, had a $300,000 remodel and re-christening in 1989, had the stern rebuilt in 1998, and the stem replaced last spring, said Dalene Zerlang from the Humboldt Bay Maritime Museum. With continued maintenance, she hopes the Madaket will see its 200th birthday.

“Basically, what the Madaket needs to keep her going for another hundred years, it’s going to take people,” she said.

Although improvements to the boat’s condition can always be made, the people are what make it possible.

“What Madaket really needs for her birthday is a covered berth,” Zerlang said, to keep it covered while it is docked.

Senior captain of the Madaket Leroy Zerlang said that Dalene Zerlang was “the Madaket’s best friend.”  She ensures the boat is well taken care of, arranges for the cruises and events, schedules the U.S. Coast Guard inspections and renews the 27 licenses required to run the boat every year. 

Leroy Zerlang also thanked the city during the celebration.

“Thank you to the residents of Eureka and the city of Eureka for letting the Madaket be a part of this city for the last 100 years,” he said. “We did what they said couldn’t be done.”

Councilman Mike Jones played announcer at an event celebrating the milestone, and his history with the ship goes back to 1959. He used to take the Madaket across the bay to the beach when the vessel acted as a ferry, as the Samoa Bridge was not yet built. The boat has survived longer than people thought was possible, he said.

“It’s an old wooden boat that nobody thought would make it past its 50th birthday,” Jones said.

Many others came out to a parade to show their appreciation for the vessel, including Donna Landry-Rehling, who wrote “Ode to the Madaket” to the tune of the “Gilligan’s Island” theme, accompanied by her husband Bryan Rehling and guitarist Jeff Smoller. The song gave an abbreviated version of the Madaket’s history, and a verse describing when the ship saved her in 1987. 

“I went overboard from a small sailboat on an icy winter day, and in a flash she scooped me up and we were under way,” Landry-Rehling sang in pirate garb. “To her we owe our gratitude and now we’ve come to pay. We’ll hoist our mugs and tip our hats to this lady and her day.”

In honor of the boat’s centennial, Pastor Michael Cloney re-christened the Madaket, as he did in 1989 after the vessel’s major remodel. Liberty Zerlang, 5, broke a bottle of champagne on the bow of the ship and Cloney sprinkled holy water onto the vessel to help ensure the Madaket continues to sail smoothly through the bay.

Local historian Ray Hillman gave a brief history of the Madaket during the celebration. He said the Madaket continues onward in history as other boats come and go.

“It’s heartening that there are a few old-timers in this fleet,” Hillman said. “Long may the Madaket sail Humboldt Bay.”

For more information on the Madaket and its tours around the bay, contact the Humboldt Bay Maritime Museum at 444-9440 or visit its website at humboldtbaymaritimemuseum.com.

- Allison White