The ocean can be intimidating. For youngsters and those who simply didn’t grow up on the water, it’s perfectly understandable to find some aspects of boating and fishing a little overwhelming at first. Like most aspects of life, it helps to have someone to guide you through your early boating experiences—someone who’s seen it all, who has the best skills and instincts, and who cares about you and your enjoyment of your time at sea. For many people, that guide was Marilyn Mercer Jones.
From Music to the Water
Marilyn was born in 1917 and spent her early years in eastern Washington state. Her family later moved to Seattle where she went to school and eventually married her husband and business partner Gaylord Jones. Marilyn - "Mars" to her friends and family - and Gaylord became professional musicians early in their marriage, performing as jazz artists in the Seattle area during the 1930s and ’40s before relocating to Los Angeles. There they recorded music and immersed themselves in the local scene, but throughout their musical careers they always made time for a shared passion that would become increasingly important to them: sportfishing.
While they found success and happiness during their time in California, the couple’s priorities shifted as they started to more seriously consider family life, and they ultimately moved back to Washington.
Fishing and Family
With intentions to raise a family and a desire to move away from the music life, Mars and Gaylord began pursuing fishing as a full-time profession in Washington's Neah Bay after their return. Like so many businesses, theirs started out small, with them using a rowboat to catch and transport salmon from the bay all the way to the city. When Gaylord was invited to become a fishing charter captain, Mars decided that she should do the same.
Mars became the first female licensed boat captain on the West Coast and only the second in the entire United States. She ran boats for several businesses in Neah Bay and Port Angeles, Washington, and developed a reputation for being one of the most skilled and reliable fishing charter captains in the area.
During the 1950s and ’60s she bought multiple boats of her own, including Satin Doll in 1969, which would become one of the biggest charter vessels in Port Angeles. All the way through the 1980s, Mars’ and Gaylord’s businesses achieved great success, and their family has kept their work going strong to the present day.
A Family Tradition That Lives On
Today Mars’ family is still deeply tied to the marine world. Her grandson Mark Fritzer now serves as the president of Lindell Yachts, continuing the family’s legacy of excellence on the water.
"She out-fished all the men every day," Mark said. "It was just her legacy.”
"I don't remember ever not being on the water," he added. "It's just what we did as a family. We fished and spent time out on the coast."
Another grandson, Ryan Fritzer, shared a story from when he worked as a deckhand for Mars. One day, a charter customer saw Mars at the helm and, not expecting a female captain, decided to leave the boat. But Ryan explained to the man how the other captains would follow her vessel because “she knew where the fish were.” That skeptical customer got back on board and they caught fish that day.
Whatever the doubts may have been, Mars always pushed forward, displaying a steadfast will in life and her career that took her to places she never expected. Mars reflected on this later in life in a story she wrote called "For the Love of Fish." Her daughter, Cheryl Fritzer, shared a passage.
“There was no premonition as to how far this first step into a nautical world would take us when we purchased that first little boat. Who would have thought of other boats, bigger boats or dreamed of fishing off the Washington Coast, fifteen to twenty miles or more, taking passengers for hire. I would have paled at the thought of being the Northwest's first woman skipper who fished in the roughest of waters, the thickest of fog along with the toughest of fishermen.”
An Incredible Legacy
From the 1950s through the 1980s, Mars and Gaylord ran several successful businesses in the Pacific Northwest and chartered countless unforgettable fishing trips. Marilyn Mercer Jones passed away in 2002, but her impact continues to be felt by the countless people she inspired.
As a matriarch not only for her family but for an entire regional industry, her legacy is an important one. Marilyn Mercer Jones showed generations of people that you do not have to be intimidated by the water. Everyone can get into boating, and anyone, if they put in the time and effort, can turn a love of boats and fishing into an incredible success story.