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It was celebration time at the foot of C Street in Eureka on Tuesday morning.

The area officially became Madaket Plaza on the vessel Madaket’s 107th Birthday.

Eureka City Council recently gave the green light to have the name changed from C Street Market Square after the Maritime Museum generated overwhelming support to have the old boat honored.

​The Madaket is a beloved Eureka waterfront attraction that’s left a lasting impression on many. The number of attendees at Tuesday’s event was a testament of the community’s adoration for the boat.

Speakers took the podium to pay homage to the Madaket and it’s many volunteers and crew members, the new sign was unveiled, a ribbon cut, a special Madaket song was sang, and then the event was topped off with three birthday cakes.

In this LoCO Video Report we transport you to the event and recap all the highlights.

We hear from Senior Captain LeRoy Zerlang who knows all about the lady Madaket’s long history.

“It’s a great celebration. It shows that you can save an old wooden boat, and you can save a part of history,” he says. “It’s something that all the volunteers and all the people involved with the Madaket since she was blessed 107 years ago have done. She was the lucky boat, she’s the one that survived,”

And we speak with Eureka’s Mayor, Frank Jager — who cut the ribbon with former skipper of the sea scouts and first vice president of the Maritime Museum, Captain Don Atterbury— and the boat’s newest and third female captain, Zippo Tonning. 

She says, “This is my family, this boat is my life, and it’s really nice to see everybody else appreciating it the way that we do.”

Plus we get to hear the lovely Mrs. Donna Landry sing an ode’ to the Madaket to the tune of Gilligan’s Island. She wrote the song for the Madaket’s 100th Birthday and revised it for this special event.

So now you can officially start calling the foot of C Street, Madaket Plaza! 

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