The three-mast schooner Metha Nelson belonged to the Alaska Packers Association for many years after being in the lumber trade along the Pacific coast. It made its last salmon fishing trip to Bristol Bay, Alaska, in 1926. She was of 460 tons and built by Hans Bendixsen at Fairhaven in 1896. During World War II she was a Navy Identification Vessel and ended up as surplus.

My father, Carl Wikander, was a sailing ship captain for many years and never really retired. Not even when sailing ships were retired. He was skipper or mate on tugs or killer whalers until he was 71 years old.

In late 1927, the movie industry leased the Metha Nelson and my father signed on as third mate at 64 years old. On Feb. 20, 1928, the vessel was towed from Alameda to San Pedro by the tug Sea Rover and fitted out with accommodations for a film crew and remodeled for the part it was to play in the movie. The movie was The Sea Wolf with Milton Sills, and patterned after the German raider Count Von Luckner during World War I.

The vessel was disguised as a merchant and would capture other merchant vessels of enemy nations. In the story, the vessel is finally captured by the old Coast Guard Cutter Bear, which has a long history. My father was in charge of maneuvering the vessel according to movie directors’ instructions and at times he had the experience of a “stand-in” for some of the actors. On Oct. 3, 1928, the vessel was towed back to Alameda by the tug Sea Ranger and laid up.

In 1930 she was sold to Fox Film Corp., and involved in another movie with the same crew and this time had an auxiliary diesel engine was installed before being towed South. This movie was called The Seas Beneath with actor George O’Brien. In the story, the vessel was a submarine chaser, going after German subs during World War I, operating in the Mediterranean Sea. It was disguised as a merchant vessel and had a house on the main deck that collapsed exposing a large gun, surprising the enemy.

She was then laid up in San Pedro and later sold for yacht. In 1939 the Metha again appeared in a movie, Rulers of the Sea. Shortly after that she served time in the Navy.

I think everyone will agree that the Metha Nelson, launched in Humboldt Bay had a most distinguished career — in the merchant marine trade, in the fishing industry, in the movies, as a yacht and then the Navy.

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The story above was originally printed in the September-October 1981 issue of the Humboldt Historian, a journal of the Humboldt County Historical Society. It is reprinted here with permission. The Humboldt County Historical Society is a nonprofit organization devoted to archiving, preserving and sharing Humboldt County’s rich history. You can become a member and receive a year’s worth of new issues of The Humboldt Historian at this link.

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ADDITIONAL ENDNOTE:

The Humboldt Historical Society — a truly great local cultural institution and resource — has just launched its 77th Anniversary Membership Drive. Won’t you consider becoming a member?

Here is a press release from the Historical Society:

In March 1947, a group of Humboldt County community members gathered in a series of meetings to discuss the need for a “historical society to promote the preservation of original historical materials… and the establishment of a suitable place for the collection.”

The “suitable place” was a series of temporary locations until 1993 when the estate of Helen Wells Barnum donated the family home on 8th St., in Eureka, to the Society. At one time it was the largest historical society in the state. Now, as the Society celebrates its seventy seventh birthday, it finds that maintaining such a large membership is a challenge. Executive Director Jane Hill notes, “Changing interests, new modes of communication and an aging membership make attracting new members and staying in touch with current members a challenge.”

The community board has taken on the challenge with a campaign to attract new members and by urging current members to introduce “someone new to membership.” Each year the

Historical Society publishes a 48-page quarterly journal, The Humboldt Historian. Filled with vintage photographs, personal recollections, scholarly articles, amusing tidbits and entertaining commentary, this publication is mailed to members as a benefit of membership.

Community members can follow the membership campaign by noting changes in the “campaign thermometer” banner hanging on the H Street side of the Society center – an old-fashioned historical tool for noting progress.

To learn more about the Society, people can visit the website at www.humboldthistory.org.

The bookstore and research center are open to the public at 703 8th St. in Eureka on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 12:30-6:30 p.m.