PITTSBURG -- A restored 28-foot Monterey clipper fishing boat now stands at the harbor entrance to pay homage to the city's commercial fishing past.
The Pescatori replaces the Red Salmon, a wind-powered gill netter fishing boat that has marked the marina entrance for decades. But the Red Salmon, which was actually painted yellow, was falling apart due to exposure from the sun. Efforts to restore the Red Salmon proved too much of a challenge, prompting the city and the Pittsburg Historical Society to replace the old boat with the Pescatori.
A canopy has been installed to protect Il Pescatori, which translates to "The Fishermen" in Italian, from the elements in hopes of avoiding a similar fate that doomed the Red Salmon.
The Pescatori was built in Pittsburg in 1945 by John DeStefano and used in local waters. The boat has been at the marina since 2007 after being acquired by the Pittsburg Historical Society for $2,500 from a boat owner in Tiburon. Restoration work was completed in 2008, and the boat was put on display at the visitor's dock. Before it was moved to the harbor entrance last month, the boat was sealed over and given a fresh coat of paint by marina workers.
"We cleaned it all up and made it spic and span," said Pittsburg Marina Harbormaster Van DePiero.
Things did not go well for the 87-year-old Red Salmon when workers tried to move the vessel.
"It literally fell in pieces," said DePiero. "It was all dry-rotted and it crumbled into matchsticks."
The Red Salmon was donated to the city in 1984 by local fisherman Joseph "Squash" Papetti. The boat's name plate and number was saved and given to Papetti's daughter, Judy Booe.
To commemorate the Pescatori's move to the marina entrance, a short ceremony will be held Saturday at 10:30 a.m.
"We're going to try and keep it short and sweet. It's already been dedicated," said Rosemarie DiMaggio, curator of the Pittsburg Historical Museum.
"We're just rededicating it because it's been moved now."
Following the ceremony, a reception will take place at the Pittsburg Historical Museum on Railroad Avenue. There, about two dozen photos of Monterey clippers and other fishing boats built in Monterey Bay by Angelo Siino will be on display.
Siino immigrated to Pittsburg in 1903 from the Italian island of Sicily when he was 14 years old to join his father in the family boatbuilding business. In 1916, he moved to Monterey to build boats. In 1927, he opened his own boatyard before later acquiring Monterey Boat Works.
Siino and his two sons, Ray and Frank, repaired wooden fishing boats and built Monterey clippers, lampara-style fishing boats and sardine hoppers and barges.
Monterey clippers were powered by small engines and were a huge part of the commercial fishing industry in the Delta, San Francisco Bay and Monterey Bay before they were replaced by larger commercial boats.
Siino's granddaughter, Janet Martinez, put together the photo exhibit of restored snapshots taken by family members and friends.
"I used to go Monterey Boat Works all the time with my grandfather and my uncle. I just wanted that history to be shown, because in Monterey everything is known for the fishermen but nobody talks about the people who built the boats for the fishermen," said Martinez, who lives in Aromas in Monterey County.
Many Siinos who settled in Pittsburg later changed the spelling of their name to Seeno because it was easier to pronounce than Siino, Martinez said. And while the Seenos became known for their home-building business in the Bay Area, those who moved to Monterey to build boats kept the Siino spelling.
Martinez has displayed her photo exhibit before in Monterey.
"I'm bringing it over to the East Bay to show the quality of these boats that were built without any blueprints," she said. "They were all master boat builders."
The II Pescatori, built in 1945 by John DeStefano, and restored by Pittsburg Harbor Master Van DePiero and his staff. The boat replaces the fishing boat previously donated by Joe Papetti, and will sit at the entrance to the marina at Third and Marina Boulevard in Pittsburg, Calif., on Friday, April 24, 2015. (Dan Rosenstrauch/Bay Area News Group) ( DAN ROSENSTRAUCH )