The S.S. Catala: A Glimpse into its Life as a “Boatel”

The S.S. Catala is one of the most famous shipwrecks on the central Washington Coast, where it lay on the beach at Damon Point from 1965 to 2007. Many people hold memories of the wreck, but what of its life? Today we take a glimpse at the three years the Catala served as a “boatel” in Washington.

The Catala’s “Boatel” Origins

The Catala did not begin its life as a “boatel” in Ocean Shores. It was initially brought in to serve as a temporary lodging facility during the 1962 Century 21 World’s Fair in Seattle. When planning the fair, the number of lodging facilities in Seattle was not considered to be sufficient for the number of visitors they were expecting. To ensure enough accommodations would be available, a group of Seattle businessmen purchased the Catala to serve as a floating hotel. The Catala was one of several vessels serving in this capacity at the fair.

The Catala was moored at Pier 58 during the fair. However, the projected lodging shortage never occurred and as a result the Catala was not considered to be profitable and closed a month before the fair ended (Cipalla 2023).

Why Ocean Shores?

The group of businessmen who owned the Catala during the World’s Fair were Murdock D. MacPherson, James R. Soley, F. Melville Milby, and W. R. MacPherson, all of whom were affiliated with MacPherson Realty (Cipalla 2023). William MacPherson of MacPherson Realty was one of the founders for Ocean Shores Estates. After the fair, the vessel was sold to California owners to use as a floating resort. According to The H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest, MacPherson reclaimed the vessel after payments failed to be maintained and moved it to Ocean Shores (Newell and McCurdy 1996).

Day-to-Day Operations

The Catala was moored at the Ocean Shores Marina and served as a charter fishing vessel and restaurant. “It served as a base for a fleet of 15 charter fishing boats. The boats tied up to the ship, which could hold as many as 80 overnight guests” (LA Times). It was first managed by Alice Werner and Ken Kehrlie (Woodwick 2010).

“She was nice inside. She was an older ship, but they had white tablecloths on the tables,” recalled then Ocean Shores Interpretive Center employee Janna Hoflin, who had lunch on the ship about a month before it was beached (Roesler 2007).

There were rumors of the Catala being used for more illicit entertainment (Teague 2017). Gene Woodwick, late historian and curator of the Ocean Shores Interpretive Center, stated that while she could not confirm gambling and prostitution were occurring on the vessel, “Certainly there were wild parties in two lounges and a dining room” (Esser 2006).

Even before the storm that wrecked the Catala, marine conditions could be harsh enough to effect it. In 1963, the power line leading to the Catala washed out and had to be relocated where it was “not exposed to direct action of the big breakers driving across the disintegrating south jetty” (Ocean Observer December 1964).

Plans for the Future

Ocean Shores had plans to expand the Catala’s offerings up until the day it was shipwrecked. In October 1964, the Catala was being considered as a potential theatrical performance venue for the 1965 summer season. In collaboration with the University of Washington drama department, the theatre would be in operation for 10 weeks during the summer. Werner Kehrli, then operator of the Catala, had already determined that the vessel could utilize the former boiler and engine rooms as a stage area and host an audience of 150-200 people. (Ocean Observer October 1964). As the ship wrecked merely three months later, this never came to pass.

References

Cipalla, R. (2023, June 27). Hotel ship Catala, moored at Pier 58 during the Century 21 World’s Fair, closes on September 17, 1962. HistoryLink. https://www.historylink.org/File/22748

Esser, Doug (2006, March 13). Historic ship rising from the grave - S.S. Catala slowly emerges from sands. It bore loggers, fishermen and served at World's Fair. The Seattle Times.

Marshall, L. (2006, May 7). Shifting sands reveal history -- and a problem. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-may-07-na-shipwreck7-story.html

Newell, G. R., & McCurdy, H. W. (1966). The H. W. McCurdy Marine history of the Pacific Northwest: An Illustrated Review of the growth and development of the Maritime Industry from 1895, the date of publication of the last such comprehensive history (Lewis & Drydren’s marine history of the Pacific Northwest) to the present time, with sketches and protraits of a number of well known Marine Men. Superior Pub. Co.

Roesler, R. (2007, July 10). The wreck of the Catala... Spokesman.com. https://www.spokesman.com/blogs/olympia/2007/jul/10/the-wreck-of-the-catala/

Teague, Robert (2017). The Ghost Coast: A Shipwreck History of the Pacific Graveyard.

The Ocean Observer (1964, December 14). Vol.1 No. 15. Tommer Crew “Marooned” at SS Catala

The Ocean Observer (1964, October 23). Vol 1. No. 11. Can Modest Catala be a Tinseled Showboat?

The Ocean Observer (1964, September 22). Vol 1 No. 7. Advertisement for the SS Catala.

Woodwick, G. (2010). Ocean Shores. Arcadia Pub.

© Laura Caldwell,  March 2024