SAUSALITO BY LAND AND SEA
Explore the lesser-known sites on the waterfront of a city with a boatbuilding history dating back to the 19th century
The Sausalito day trip can be a blustery bike ride over the Golden Gate Bridge rewarded with an affogato at Cibo or a ferry ride that drops you near Poggio Trattorio, where you can sip a negroni and watch sail masts sway in the wind.
At first glance, it seems like a tourist-driven bedroom community, but Sausalito’s true DNA is in boatbuilding, and it attracts salty residents who share a fierce love of boats and the sea. Venture a bit deeper and experience the grittier, vibrant pockets of the town’s true personality. This year is the 75th anniversary of Marinship, a World War II boatbuilding yard that transformed the region.
With its to sheltered coves, deep water for moorings, and freshwater streams running down the hillside, Richardson Bay was a favorite stop for boats entering San Francisco Bay. In the 1800s, fishermen hauled their small sailboats onto beaches for repairs to hulls and riggings; boatyards popped up along the waterfront.
Then the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 triggered the building of Marinship, a shipyard that was central to the Pacific war effort. At its peak, 20,000 people worked around the clock building Liberty Ships, oil tankers and Army invasion barges. A vessel was completed about every 13 days. Then the war ended and Marinship shut down.
Lifeboats, landing crafts and balloon barges were many of the vessels left behind. According to Larry Clinton of the Sausalito Historical Society, “Soldiers returned to go to college on the GI bill, and needed a place to live. So they lived on these boats left behind. Many of them happened to be artists, like Richard Diebenkorn.”
The ferryboats Issaquah and Charles Van Damme were rerouted from demolition to float off Gate 6 Road where they became a commune and late-night music hall and restaurant. Since then, the waterfront has attracted poets, pirates and shipwrights. It continues to lure dreamers captivated by the sounds of toadfish humming, the smell of herring in the air and the unique legacy left in the wake of the Liberty Ships.
Venture farther along the waterfront and experience the salty people and places that preserve Sausalito’s character.
Sausalito by land
Walk the waterfront: An easy 2½-mile walk or bike ride north on Bridgeway will take you to a coastal path just past Dunphy Park. You’ll pass by Galilee Harbor, a community of artists and shipbuilders. It’s named for the two-masted brigantine built by Matthew Turner 124 years ago. Continue north, past Schoonmaker Beach, sail-making studios, dive shops and the semi-dilapidated buildings from Marinship.
Tour the Bay Model: Known for the hydraulic model of the San Francisco Bay and delta system, the Bay Model Visitor Center also has a Marinship exhibit. Photos and ephemera depict the culture of shipbuilding, along with maps showing the scale of the project. Interpretive walking tours of the area are offered; check the website for details. Entry is free. 2100 Bridgeway, Sausalito; (415) 332-3871. www.spn.usace.army.mil/Missions/Recreation/Bay-Model -Visitor-Center
See the Matthew Turner: The first wooden tall ship built in this area in 85 years is docked just in front of the Bay Model. It was an epic community undertaking with more than 1,000 volunteers. It will be a nonprofit educational charter boat. You can’t go aboard yet, but just admire from shore. Masts are going up next. http://educationaltallship.org
Visit Harmonia: Just behind the Bay Model is a chic yoga, wellness and live music center located in the old Plant recording studio. This is where Fleetwood Mac, Prince, Bob Marley and the Wailers, and other luminaries recorded. There are also occasional yoga and dance classes on the 90-foot yacht, the Empress, dockside. Classes on the Empress range from $25 to $30. 2200 Marinship Way, Sausalito; (415) 332-1432. www.harmoniamarin.com
Explore Spaulding Marine Center:
Open to the public, it’s full of old world, craftsman charm. For boat geeks, the Still Leg Derrick hoist is one of the few still in operation. This working dock helps support the nonprofit wooden boatbuilding school, speaker series and restoration of vintage vessels. Check website for summer schedule. Free entry, 600 Gate 5 Road, Sausalito; (415) 332-3179. www.spauldingcenter.org
Sausalito by sea
See floating homes: Many of the marinas in Sausalito have allocated 10 percent of slips for “liveaboards.” Floating homes are permanently docked and attached to city sewer and water. A more rugged breed of boat dwellers, anchor-outs, live moored in Richardson Bay. One way to see these unique communities is by renting kayaks and stand-up paddleboards. Try Sea Trek located adjacent to the Bay Model. 2100 Bridgeway, Sausalito; (415) 332-8494. www.seatrek.com/rentals. Blue Rush, closer to downtown Sausalito, also rents SUPs and offers kiteboarding lessons. 1201-C Bridgeway, Sausalito; (415) 339-9112. www.bluerushboardsports.com/rentals-lessons
Tip: To see floating homes made from landing crafts, tugboats and even railroad cars, paddle north, avoid the channel where boats travel and stay closer to shore. Legally, you must stay 100 feet away from seals, and this is a good distance when paddling past human water dwellers — for their privacy, and because some things you can’t unsee.
Charter a yacht: To get out on a sail, groups up to six passengers can charter Carodon, a private sailing yacht built for speed and safety. The sail includes salty captain Heather Richards. Cost is $180 per hour for groups of six (threehour minimum). (415) 730-0849. www.finedayforsailing.com
Sail on a tall ship: Or go big, and book a trip on the tall ship Freda B. It’s docked downtown near the recently opened Book Passage store, and offers full-moon and sunset sails, as well as eco-sails to the Headlands. Swooning over her stately rigging is inevitable. Sails filled as you head toward the Golden Gate Bridge, you realize that boatbuilding may be Sausalito’s DNA, but seafaring is where the soul of Sausalito can be found. ($65-$129). Sausalito Yacht Harbor, Slip 907, Sausalito; (415) 331-0444. http://schoonerfredab.com