Published: April, 2000 San Francisco Bay is a rogue sea. Strong as a sumo champion, it can wrestle a ship to its doom. Generous as a millionaire, it serves up salmon shrimp, abalone and sole. Unpredictable by nature, the Bay can suddenly become an enemy, lashing beach cottages to driftwood. Yet it can be a […]
Archive
Ferries of the world
Published: March, 2000 It’s a relaxing and pleasurable cruise across Cook Strait and through the beautiful Marlborough Sounds. The journey covers a distance of 52 nautical miles. The Interislander is 148 meters long and carries up to 975 passengers, 126 cars and 60 railcars at once. During the summer season, a fast ferry called the […]
Riders of the Tides
BY CRISTINE E. CORDI Published: March, 2000 On the night of October 17, 1989 a ferry pulls away from the San Francisco Ferry Building. The ferry passengers float past an eerie, darkened city looking dead – save the hell fires of the Marina District. An image of destruction is seared into the memory of a […]
Are Ferries Environmentally Friendly?
Published: March, 2000 There is good news and there is bad news for ferry advocates made anxious by charges that ferries damage the environment. The good news is that the environmentalist leading the charge against ferries now believes that “it’s possible that San Francisco will one day have the worlds biggest, and “greenest” ferry system, […]
History of the Ferryboatmen’s Union
BY BOBBY WINSTON Published: March, 2000 The Ferryboatmen’s Union of California came into being in November 1918. A new law called the Railway Labor Act encouraged unionization so as to increase wartime production, and founder Clyde Deal took full advantage of its provisions to quickly organize San Francisco Bay passenger and auto ferries as well […]
Appointments made to Water Transit Authority
Published: March, 2000 Three appointments have been made to the San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Authority Board. They are: — Marina Secchitano, Regional Director of Inland Boatmen's Union of the Pacific (IBU). The IBU represents most of the crewpeople working San Francisco Bay ferryboats. Ms. Secchitano is also a founding member of the […]
Are Ferries Environmentally Friendly? Well, Maybe.
Published: March, 2000 There is good news and there is bad news for ferry advocates made anxious by charges that ferries damage the environment. The good news is that the environmentalist leading the charge against ferries now believes that “it’s possible that San Francisco will one day have the worlds biggest, and “greenest” ferry system, […]
Are Ferries Environmentally Friendly? Without a Doubt.
BY JIM SWEENEY Published: March, 2000 Last July, when expanded ferry service was being proposed by the Bay Area Council, Russell Long, Executive Director of Bluewater Network, issued the "Bay Area Transit Options Emission Report" on the internet. This Report raises speculative concerns that are backed up by an impressive array of data tables, bar […]
How the Commuters Saved the Vallejo Ferry
Published: February, 2000 These days, Vallejo ferry service is an unquestioned success story. Fast, modern ferryboats full to the brim with contented commuters speed between San Francisco and Vallejo every day. A beautiful terminal at the Vallejo end, seamless bus connections all the way to Sacramento, a state-of-the-art web site that even lets you track […]
Berkeley Ferry – A Grass-roots Success Story
Published: February, 2000 "Quake riders" in Berkeley did more than just ride the ferry, they helped make it a reality.