BY MATT LARSON Riding the ferry makes many people happy, and it makes some people so happy that they pursue careers on the ferries. Lou Cook, deckhand for Blue & Gold Fleet, is one of these people. This former interior designer used to take the ferry from San Francisco to Larkspur for work, or would […]
BY PATRICK BURNSON In last year’s final West Coast Trade Report, Pacific Merchant Shipping Association President John McLaurin reflected on issues having the greatest impact on shippers in 2019, while speculating on what we may expect in the coming months. On the West Coast trade community, he noted that 2019 had been “a difficult year,” […]
BY MATT LARSON This month we had the pleasure of getting to know Julius Dacasin, a captain for Blue & Gold Fleet. At this writing he’s been captain for more than two and a half years. Remaining flexible, he also sometimes still works as a deckhand, which he’s been doing for the past five years. […]
BY BOBBY WINSTON Twenty years ago, and I was looking for something to do between jobs. I thought I’d spend just a few months volunteering as an advocate for more ferry service. God laughs at the plans of man. . . I fell under the spell of the hard-charging Ron Cowan, colorful Harbor Bay developer […]
BY JOEL WILLIAMS In January 2000, Bay Crossings founder Bobby Winston and Inlandboatmen’s Union leader Marina Secchitano personally handed out the first issue of Bay Crossings to ferryboat commuters as they boarded and disembarked from the boats at the San Francisco Ferry Building. Just two months earlier, Governor Gray Davis had signed into law a […]
BY MATT LARSON In every issue of Bay Crossings since November 2011—that’s nearly 100 consecutive months—we have featured a different captain, deckhand, bartender, operations supervisor, port engineer or administrative assistant. Basically anyone working in the San Francisco Bay Area’s thriving ferry industry is fair game to be our next subject. We’re so grateful for everyone […]
BY PATRICK BURNSON Following a thorough and exhaustive national search to replace the much-esteemed, retiring Chris Lytle, the Port of Oakland has announced that its new executive director is local resident Danny Wan. Wan had been the port’s interim executive director since summer 2019. Before that, he was the port’s attorney for six years. He […]
BY PATRICK BURNSON “Leadership,” and what it means to incorporate management skill in everyday life, was the issue addressed by the group Women in Logistics at a forum in San Francisco late last October. Hosted by the Port of San Francisco, the event featured four highly successful logistics professionals from diverse sectors of the industry. […]
BY MATT LARSON A career with the ferry system in the Bay Area is attainable for anyone willing to put in the work. As we’ve learned in a number of profiles written in this space over the last few years, with enough determination and patience, a career change into working on the waterways is well […]
BY MATT LARSON After working as a newspaper reporter for about a decade, Daniel DeBolt needed a change. He packed his bags, sublet his apartment and hiked the Pacific Crest Trail—a famous hiking expedition that stretches 2,650 miles from Mexico to Canada. It took him six months and five days to complete; the experience was […]