Ferryboat Sausalito History

Since 1939, she has served as the Clubhouse for Sportsmen Yacht Club
(Be sure to click "Sportsmen Yacht Club History")

Historian Kathie Hammer

According to the book, The Ferry Building, by Nancy Olmsted, there were 22 electricians, who rotated shifts so that within any 24 hour period an electrician was always on duty at the Ferry building.

The Ferry Building operated the electrical system for the piers, foghorns, bells and many waterfront lights. There were stevedores loading ships all night long; it was crucial to keep it all operating. There was a Fire Marshall who drove along the waterfront checking on possible hazardous cargo. The Port kept a matron on duty all night in the ladies waiting room.

By 1927, all kind of technological changes had to be made to accommodate the family automobile. Five Ferry slips had become ten, with Southern Pacific using 9 and 10 exclusively for automobile ferries.

By 1939, Southern Pacific figures on Ferryboat passengers’ service were way down. In 1920, there were 22,657,418 transbay passengers carried in this service, compared to 9,937,488 in 1938, even though the population in East Bay Cities and San Francisco increased 50 percent.

The bridges were built and people found they didn’t want to take the time for those wonderful rides across the Bay. This was the beginning of hurry up!

Literally millions of people commuted on the Bay in the 1930’s. Many of them became good friends and celebrated many occasions on the ferries.

Food was very important to the ferry riders. In 1938, you could order Pot Roast of Beef for 45 cents, Homemade Corned Hash was 40 cents, a cup of Beans was 25 cents, and a piece of Homemade Pie 10 cents.

The ferryboat passengers were able to get quick smooth connections to where they were going.

The ferry system worked so well because the schedule of ferryboats was matched by the schedule of streetcar and cable car connections to most of the city. In 1930, 43 ferryboats transported a total of 47 million passengers and more than 6 million automobiles across the Bay.

It was often said that ferryboat passengers had more fun on their twice daily trips than any other commuter.

It was only the early ferries like our Sausalito that were all wood. The interiors of these boats were all made by highly skilled craftsmen. The interior panels were made of only the finest hardwoods, with carved trim with intricate designs. Take time to look around and notice the fine craftsmanship of our ferry. This type of fine craftsmanship was only found on the passenger ferries built before 1900.

Another feature of many of the finer passenger ferries was a set of glass windows where the passengers could view the main engine in motion while the vessel was under way. It was always the hope of youngsters making a ferry trip that they could get a seat close to the windows so they could watch, with great fascination, the engine working while they were underway.

The gazing through the windows came to an abrupt end one day in 1922 when our Sausalito, making a run from San Francisco to Sausalito, had the misfortune to have her walking beam break in a critical spot, and the main connecting rod tore loose taking with it a good portion of the center hurricane deck. At the same time, the walking beam slammed down into the cabin, panicking the passengers. Shortly after that, all of the windows which allowed a view of the engine were boarded up. Much of the fascination of the ferryboats was removed when the windows were covered and the passengers lost one of the most exciting pastimes when making a trip across the Bay.

I found this article in an old bulletin dated February 1939 and thought you might enjoy reading it. This was happening 73 years ago.

“There was a fine turnout of about 50 at the January 16th meeting and committees were appointed to serve for this year. There was also a proposal of the greatest importance to Sportsmen Inc. discussed at great length and with great enthusiasm and a standing vote was taken which was unanimous in favor of acquiring a certain property, dredging a suitable harbor and moving the Sausalito, provided all of this could be accomplished on terms and price agreeable to the membership. This program is already bearing fruit.

On February 4, a deposit was made on 5 acres of the Yates property pending title search and delivery of deed. Since then the papers were received and taken to Chas. Fisher, our attorney. There was a slight discrepancy, so they were sent back for correction. Your officers are not doing this business in any haphazard manner.”

We have been attending Santa night since 1980 and I think I have been singing with the children for most of those years, so I thought this could be an historical report.

It all started many years ago when, for several years, we had over 120 children and as they were waiting for Santa to arrive they began to run around. It became a concern they would get hurt. I remember ringing a bell and they all came and we started to sing. That was the beginning.

This year we had 40 children and they had the same wide eyes full of excitement while waiting for Santa. I read them “Twas the Night Before Christmas.” They were very good listeners and helped me with parts of the story. We all sang Christmas songs and then my granddaughter, Lexi, helped me pass out bells to jingle while singing “Jingle Bells.”

Mr. Hammer kept us informed of Santa’s travel progress. He always stops on West Island so the Reindeer can eat their favorite food, asparagus. Then Santa and Mrs. Claus board the Dawson’s boat which is all decorated with lights and heads for the Sausalito.

It is very exciting to see the boat arrive with Mr. and Mrs. Claus. They looked particularly great in their red matching outfits this year! As all the children know, the real Santa comes to Sportsmen YC. Santa greeted each child with a wonderful smile and asked them what they wanted for Christmas. He seemed to know just how to talk to the young children as well as the older children, even the crying babies looked back at him with a smile. Freda took great pictures of each child and his elves helped Mrs. Claus pass gifts to the children. Natalie Greer handed out a surprise gift to each child. Thanks to everyone's generosity, we had a delicious potluck. Alice and her helpers did a beautiful job decorating. It was a magical night!