| Avalon Bay 1963-64 S.S.Catalina, Blanche W, Phoenix, Sikorsky VS-44A
Catalina Mayer L.L.C. is really about the passion the founder, Dave Mayer, has for Catalina Island. It started almost from birth, since he had the privledge of spending every summer on the "Magic Isle". This was courtesy of his grandfather, photographer/inventor Fred Mayer, who had several homes in Avalon. He started a "Mayer" presence in the 40's that continues today, as Dave's kids have caught that passion, too!
For Dave, the 60's were an incredible time to be there. There were two piers: the Green Pleasure Pier and the Steamer Pier. The Big White Steamer, the S.S.Catalina, would arrive at the Steamer Pier at Noon. Kids, sometimes Dave included, would greet the ship by swimming out alongside, calling for the tourist on board to throw a coin into the water. Not the easiest way to get lunch money! Also at the Steamer Pier were most of the local sightseeing boats. The Phoenix, a side paddlewheel glass bottom boat, that took tourist into the next little inlet, Lover's Cove, to watch the many forms of sealife through the huge glass "windows" on the bottom of the ship. Another boat, the Blanche W, named after William Wrigley's granddaughter Blanche Wrigley, pulled triple duty! Morning trips to Seal Rocks, mid-day trips to the Isthmus at the other end of the island, and finally night time trips to see the famous Flying Fish!
The Pleasure Pier was home to Avalon Air Transport, which became Catalina Air Lines. All day long you'd here the sounds of their fleet of Grumman JRF/G-21 Goose two engine seaplanes and the mighty four engine Sikorsky VS-44A flying boat, coming and going. If you were there, you'll never forget the sight of these planes occasionally flying down through the canyon, seemingly brushing the tops of the palm trees on the beach, and then touching down on the water just past the pier. This also presented another money making venture for Dave and other kids, in offering to haul tourist luggage from the foot of the pier to their hotels in their little red wagons!
Those days are long gone, but the memories live on. Of all of these, only the Blanche W and the Pleasure Pier remain! The city eventually made the current transportation center known as the Cabrillo Mole. This resulted in the Steamer Pier being removed in 1968. It also led to the removal of the seaplanes from the harbor. The mole was used by the Steamer for a few years, and even the seaplanes had a ramp to use. But the lack of parking for vehicles led to the seaplanes being eliminated from using the mole seaplane ramp, and all were relegated to using the seaplane ramp at Pebbly Beach. After the S.S.Catalina stopped service to Avalon after the 1975 season, she was neglected for years and was last used for a restaurant & merchant shops. But now she sits abandoned and half submerged in Ensenada Harbor in Mexico, facing demolition by Mexican Authorities unless rescued soon. The Phoenix sunk off the coast of Santa Monica on June 11th 2006 while being ferried to San Francisco. It was to be converted into a restaurant.
The Grumman Goose became too old to haul passengers, many were scrapped. However, one of the planes used in Catalina was chosen for the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum in Washington D.C. It is on display in the original Grumman navy blue & yellow trim colors. The Sikorsky, the only survivor of three ever made, went on to last fly in the Carribean with the original test pilot, Charles Blair, and his airline, Antilles Air Transport. The plane eventually ended up being completely restored, after nearly 10 years of volunteer work, to it's original configuration and paint scheme for American Export Airlines. It now sits in all it's glory in the New England Air Museum in Connecticut.
We hope these accounts bring back some kind of fond memory you have about Catalina Island. If you have a memory or comment you'd like to share, please send us an e-mail. We'll post these memories for all to see on our Memory Board. Thank you for looking, and we hope you enjoy! |
