The Log From The Sea of Cortez

Published in 1951, The Log From The Sea of Cortez is a non-fiction travelogue by John Steinbeck. The book describes a six-week trip taken by Steinbeck and his friend, marine biologist Ed Ricketts, in 1940 to the Gulf of California to collect specimens. The book was originally published in 1941 as The Sea of Cortez, but Steinbeck republished it ten years later to include a biography of Ed Ricketts, who was killed in an accident in 1948. Steinbeck authored 25 books and is one of the most renowned American writers.

The Log From The Sea of Cortez details the day-to-day happenings during Steinbeck and Ricketts' expedition, which took place from March 11 to April 20, 1940. The expedition starts in Monterey Bay, California, and sails down the Baja California coast to the Gulf of California (a.k.a. the Sea of Cortez). Later it returns along much the same route. During the journey, the crew gradually casts off the cares of modern life and adapts themselves to the rhythms of the sea. They observe and philosophize about nature and mankind's place within it.

As the book begins, Steinbeck and Ricketts are in Monterey Bay to search out a vessel and crew for the expedition. Readers are introduced to Captain Tony Berry, "Tex" Travis the mechanic, and "Tiny" Colletto and "Sparky" Enea, who serve as crewmen and cooks. After the annual local party to commemorate the end of the fishing season, the expedition sails south on the Western Flyer on March 11.



The voyage is relaxed and marked by casual fishing. They pass Point San Lazaro on March 17 and continue down to Cabo San Lucas at the tip of the Baja California peninsula. There they anchor, and after being greeted by Mexican officials, the group tours the cannery town. Once their papers are cleared, the Western Flyer proceeds northward into the Sea of Cortez.

As they sail, Steinbeck and Ricketts take daily excursions to collect marine specimens. Later they are joined on these excursions by Colletto and Enea. During these times, Steinbeck makes many references to the "Hansen Sea Cow," which was the name humorously given to the outboard motor of their boat. He describes it as "not only a living thing but a mean, irritable, contemptible, vengeful, mischievous, hateful living thing," and says that, "It loved no one, trusted no one, it had no friends."

On one such expedition, they attempt to land at the Isla Espiritu Santo, but heavy winds prevent them from reaching it. They try again later, and on March 20, are successful. That evening, they meet some locals from La Paz, the capital city of Baja California, and they invite the expedition to visit the city. Because their beer supply is gone, the crew accept the invitation. During the next three days, the expedition collects there with the locals. Steinbeck also hears the story that will later inspire him to write The Pearl.



They next travel from La Paz to San José Island, where the Hansen Sea Cow has another breakdown. The next day is Easter Sunday, and the expedition travels to Puerto Escondido, where they meet some vacationing Mexicans. The vacationers invite them on a two-day sheep hunting trip, and Steinbeck and Ricketts accept as it will give them an opportunity to explore inland. The party spends the time eating, drinking, and relaxing, but never actually hunting, which pleases Steinbeck. He writes, "Furthermore, they had taught us the best of all ways to go hunting, and we shall never use any other. We have, however, made one slight improvement on their method: we shall not take a gun, thereby obviating the last remote possibility of having the hunt cluttered up with game."

After only nine days in the Gulf, Steinbeck and Ricketts are forced to make a decision to slow their specimen collecting as they are running out of storage room. Additionally, the work is extremely tiring. Beyond collecting, there is the job of preparing, cataloging, and processing the specimens, as well as the setting up and taking down of their equipment at each location.

As March transitions into April, the expedition reaches the sparsely populated region of the northern part of the Gulf. On April 3, they anchor at Tiburón Island and spend the day collecting at Red Point Bluff while keeping careful watch for the Seri, a cannibal tribe said to live in the area, though they saw none.



Their route continues through the city of Guaymas and on to the Estero de la Luna. On April 8, they encounter a Japanese shrimping fleet that is dredging the bottom of the estuary, and Steinbeck and Ricketts are invited on board to examine their findings. The dredging method is destructive, killing other species of marine life in addition to the shrimp, and the collectors take some examples for their records. The crew is annoyed, however, when the pair later returns to the boat having forgotten to get shrimp for dinner.

The Hansen Sea Cow has another breakdown while Steinbeck and Ricketts are collecting in the Estero de la Luna, and the men become lost in a dense fog. Fortunately the fog clears after a time, and they are able to return to the Western Flyer.

Nearing the expedition's end, the ship travels to Agiabampo Lagoon and then crosses the Gulf to the San Gabriel Bay. There they do a final collection excursion, and then on April 12, set a course for home. During the expedition, the team catalogued over 500 species and even discovered 50 new species. Three of these newly discovered species were sea anemone that were named Palythoa rickettsii, Isometridium rickettsi, and Phialoba steinbecki in their honor.