From the beginning, Blue & Gold Fleet has been entrenched in the vibrancy of the San Francisco Bay Area.  We pride ourselves on being part of the community we serve. Since May 27, 1979 we have been operating boat tours on San Francisco Bay. We’ve celebrated good times with visitors and locals alike and have been there to help during more difficult times such as the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake and 2013 BART strikes.  As we approach 40 years in business on the San Francisco Waterfront, including operating ferry service for 27 years, we want to offer our sincerest thanks to everyone who has supported Blue & Gold Fleet.

Below you will find stories about the past 40 years at Blue & Gold. We hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane.  If you have any memories, photos, videos or stories from your Blue & Gold Fleet experiences, either as a local or visitor, please share them with us at 40years@blueandgoldfleet.com.

Pat Murphy President of Blue & Gold Fleet

Celebrating 40 Years on the Bay

40 Years of Stories

In The Beginning
In The Beginning
Roger Murphy (pictured above with wife Judy and son Pat), along with Warren Simmons, founded Blue & Gold Fleet at PIER 39 on May 27, 1979.  The original boats, OSKI, GOLDEN BEAR and OLD BLUE, started sailing underneath the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges, around Alcatraz Island and cruising the Historic San Francisco Waterfront.

> Click here to read more.

Water Skiing with Blue & Gold
Water Skiing with Blue & Gold
Blue & Gold Fleet carries more than 4 million passengers each year – sometimes with water skiers in tow.   A few decades back, Blue & Gold decided to take a turn at breaking the world record for towing water skiers!

> Read all about how it turned out here.

The Loma Prieta Earthquake
The Loma Prieta Earthquake
During the Loma Prieta Earthquake in 1989, The Bay Bridge experienced devastation that caused a 76 x 50 foot section of the upper deck on the eastern cantilever side to fall onto the deck below. In response, Blue & Gold Fleet helped carry over 15,000 stranded passengers between Oakland and San Francisco at no charge.

> Read more about it here.

The BART Strike of 2013
The BART Strike of 2013
The Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) strike in 2013 caused traffic nightmares for more than 400,000 commuters in the Bay Area.  Blue & Gold Fleet was able to mobilize quickly to help relieve some of the gridlock.

> Read here for the complete story.

Blue & Gold Fleet On The Big Screen - Summer 2018
Blue & Gold Fleet On The Big Screen - Summer 2018
In Summer 2018, Blue & Gold Fleet’s vessel, The Harbor Emperor, made it’s big-screen debut, along with many sights around Pier 41, during the blockbuster movie Ant-Man and the Wasp from the Disney/Marvel Studios.

> Click here to learn more.

More stories and memories to come, please check back soon!
Have something you’d like to share with us to help us celebrate our 40 years on the bay?  Contact us at 40years@blueandgoldfleet.com.

In the News

Marin Independent Journal | February 2009
Marin Independent Journal | February 2009
In 2009, our ferry service to Sausalito was ranked the second most scenic in the world by the Society of American Travel Writers.

> Read the article.

Bay Crossings | May 2019
Bay Crossings | May 2019
Our 40th Anniversary was featured as the cover story in the May, 2019 edition of Bay Crossings.

> Read the article here.

Do You Know Why Our Boat Colors Are Blue & Gold?

You may have noticed the colors of our boats are the same as the University of California-Berkeley.  This is not a mistake.  One of our founders, Roger Murphy, graduated from St. Mary’s College of California in the East Bay, the other, Warren Simmons, is a proud Cal Alumnus.

Taking it one step further, Blue & Gold’s first three boats were named OSKI, GOLDEN BEAR and OLD BLUE, all in reference to the University of California-Berkeley. These 3 boats are still cruising on the Bay today.

The 3 original boats, OSKI, GOLDEN BEAR and OLD BLUE (shown above with their original paint schemes), have a passenger count of 300 and can travel approximately 10 knots per hour.  They all have a gross tonnage of 88, are 72.1 feet long, 24 feet wide and have a draft of 9.5.