Who’s Writing About the Bay’s Ferry Workers?

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 who’s agreed to do a story with us, and we look forward to continuing the column as long as we find ferry employees willing to be a part of it. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Bay Crossings, we’re turning this article’s focus around for this issue, and have decided to not feature any one individual, but rather speak about what we’ve learned.

First, to anyone not in the maritime field who is looking for a career change—look no further. People come to work on the ferries from many fields and backgrounds, and not a single one of them ever had an office as nice as a ferry boat out on the Bay. A good place to start such a career would be through this column’s sponsor, the Maritime Institute, at the bottom of this page.

Over the last eight years of interviewing professional mariners, we’ve noticed a few things that most everyone seems to have in common.

The most obvious common element is that they all simply, truly, love the work they do. Gazing out upon the beautiful, ever-changing scenery of the San Francisco Bay while cruising along in a ferry boat (on the clock) is one of the biggest draws of the job, and most captains and deckhands will tell you that no two sunsets or sunrises are the same.

Camaraderie between coworkers, and with the passengers, is another common element when it comes to favorite parts of the job. It’s the people who make ferry employees look forward to work every day.

Our original intention with this column was to help introduce the ferry employee to the ferry commuter; our effort was to expand that sense of community and create a more familial atmosphere on board the ferry boats.

These articles have also helped fellow ferry colleagues get to know each other more as well. Some people have even earned promotions after being featured in our magazine. That’s amazing to us, and something we’re very proud of—though not intended of course.

Every single ferry commute relies on a community of individuals to make it possible. That community includes the employees on board and the passengers, of course, but also all of the other ships, boats, windsurfers and the Coast Guard—everyone out there on the Bay must work together in harmony for it all to flow smoothly.

We want to continue to celebrate this community each and every month, but believe it or not, people aren’t lining up to be featured in the next issue of Bay Crossings. Some people feel a column might end up being too personal, or that they can’t spare the time. But our experience has been that we can respect subjects’ privacy and tell compelling stories at the same time, and that a ferry employee’s participation is a very quick commitment.

So reach out! If you or someone you know works in the ferry system and would trust us enough to tell your story in 700 words or less, send us an email. You can contact me, the writer, directly via www.marslegstrong.com, or head to baycrossings.com to contact the publication.

Thanks to everyone who’s been a part of this journey, and if you’ve been reading along the way, we’d love to hear from you too. If you have any thoughts, feedback, compliments or concerns, let us know.