Remains of 122-year-old ship still visible along Martinez shoreline -

*The Forrester. Photo courtesy Martinez Historical Society.*

MARTINEZ, CA (Mar. 27, 2023) —Visitors enjoying a break from the stormy and gloomy weather and beautiful blue skies and spring weather at Martinez shoreline were treated Sunday, March 26 to a greater glimpse of the Forrester schooner just off shore due to low tides. It was beached by its captain on similar mud flats in 1935 to live out its days.

In its day the schooner set sailing records for crafts and sailed from Australia to San Francisco in 75 days. In 1975, the Forrester, the last intact schooner on the Pacific Coast, burned to the waterline, and the burned out hill is all that remains today, according to a placard near the shoreline site.

For more about the Forrester, visit martinezhistory.org/forester

Captain Otto A. Daeweritz, born in Czechoslovakia, was the Forester’s only master. He came to San Francisco in the 1890’s and received his captain’s papers at the age of 24. He helped design the ship & had two partners until 1927 when he bought them out. He lived on the ship with his bulldog “Texas” until his death in 1947. (Photo and caption courtesy Martinez Historical Society)

Tags: David Scholz, history, Martinez Historical Society, Martinez Shoreline