26 Miles Across the Sea

Patty here...

Santa Catalina Island, just off the coast of Los Angeles, is steeped in history and mystery. It is where actor Natalie Wood died in 1981, under circumstances some still call suspicious, where a Civil War barracks still functions as the Isthmus Yacht Club, where William Wrigley, the chewing gum tycoon who bought the island in 1919, watched from the window of his home on Mt. Ada as his Chicago Cubs baseball team practiced in the field below, where author Zane Grey sometimes wrote 3,000 words a day in his rambling pueblo-style home overlooking Avalon harbor. Grey's house is now a hotel, in which I once stayed hoping for a visitation from the author’s 3,000-words-a-day spirit. Unfortunately, it was the ghost’s day off.

Zane Grey: a passion for fishing and adventure

Zane Grey, on a honeymoon visit to Avalon with his wife Dolly in 1905, fell in love with big game fishing. He later made Avalon his home and became a member of the Tuna Club, the West’s first big game sports fishing organization, which was created in 1898 by Dr. Charles Frederick Holder. Past members include movie directors Hal Roach and Cecil B. DeMille and actors Stan Laurel, Jackie Coogan, Charlie Chaplin and Bing Crosby. Winston Churchill was a guest of the club. His thank you letter to the board is framed and mounted on the wall in the cardroom.

 Holder's portrait graces the wall of the Tuna Club library

Membership rules: To become a member you have to reel in a fish of 100 pounds or more all by yourself within 100 miles of Catalina with regulation tackle (linen or Dacron line). The club's philosophy is based on conservation and good sportsmanship, i.e., allowing the fish equal footing with the angler.

The Tuna Club on August 17, 2013

The Tuna Club, Zane Grey and the problem with Mrs. Spalding: There are currently no women members of the Tuna Club but that’s not how it used to be. According to our tour guide, Zane Grey was an accomplished fisherman. He was also curmudgeonly and not well liked by the Tuna Club membership. In 1920, he caught a 418-pound swordfish, which afforded him major bragging rights around Avalon. The following year, Mrs. Keith Spalding of the Spalding sporting goods family, bested Grey’s catch by 8 pounds. Grey complained loudly and publicly that it was impossible for a petite woman like Mrs. Spalding to have landed the fish without help. The Board of the Tuna Club was not happy about Grey’s unsportsmanlike rant. After a thorough investigation, they concluded that Mrs. Spalding had indeed caught the fish by herself with the approved line and tackle. The Board told Grey to apologize to Mrs. Spalding in a public forum or resign from the club. He did both.

"For when the one great scorer comes to write against your name. He writes not that you won or lost, but how you played the game."

 Mrs. Spalding's fish

My tour: The Tuna Club has always fascinated me. A scene from one of my favorite movies, Chinatown, was filmed there: P.I. Jake Gittes flies by seaplane to Catalina to interview Noah Cross who is a member of “The Albacore Club.”

Gittes (Jack Nicholson) stands on the front deck of 
the "Albacore Club" AKA The Tuna Club.
In the background is the real Catalina Island Yacht Club.

The original clubhouse, built in 1908, was destroyed in the Great Avalon Fire of 1915 but rebuilt within six months. For outsiders, angling for a look inside is as difficult as getting into Fort Knox with a low credit score. But once a year, the club opens its doors for tours to benefit the Catalina Island Museum. By happenstance, I was in Avalon on that very one day.

The library pictured below is on the left side of the main hallway. It holds photos and memorabilia from the club's 100-year history. Directly across the hall is the card room with 2 green felt-topped tables, and more history. On one wall is a "Fish Board" that lists the names of members who have caught fish in the current year, the tackle used, the weight and type of fish (tuna, marlin, broadbill albacore, white sea bass, and yellowtail).

The library

Zane Grey's writerly spirit: Maybe Zane Grey’s spirit was making up for his prior no-show because while I was inside the building, the answer to a troublesome clue in my current novel magically revealed itself in the guise of old fishing tackle.

I've never read any of Zane Grey's books but I'm going to now. Anybody have a favorite I should start with?


Happy Monday!