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vessels they pilot and the passengers they keep safe. It’s a job job call every morning at the hall, earning casual work as a BELOW: A fireboat sprays jets RESCUES right there at Pier 45, and they had overturned. It was so
many people can’t imagine doing, but the Bay Area—and the deckhand. As he began accumulating on-the-job hours and of water high into the sky; they Since the era of Whitehall boatmen, captains and sailors have rough I didn’t dare pick them up, but I called the Coast Guard
Red and White Fleet—is a better place for their service. moving up through union ranks, he earned his first full-time are designed for subduing fires on been on standby in case of maritime emergency. There’s no and they came out and picked them up.”
deckhand position. All the while, he looked for opportunities vessels of all shapes and sizes. If an such thing as a typical day on the water, and incidents can Fortunately, most rescues are not that dire, and one thing
emergency does break out on the
BECOMING A CAPTAIN to gain experience in other areas onboard. “It was not an easy Bay, Red and White Fleet captains come up at a moment’s notice. It is not uncommon to have to all captains and deckhands can agree on is that rescues of
The ability for employees to work their way up is an important process; it took a lot of convincing,” he recalled. Burgard’s are bound by the “code of the sea” to stop to pick up a becalmed kitesurfer (sometimes even two in kitesurfers have become the most common occurrence on
part of the Red and White Fleet’s corporate ethos. Over the training protocol provided him with a strong background of drop their current route and assist the one trip), and the fleet and its captains are always on standby the Bay.
years many captains have “come up through the hawsepipe” maritime textbook knowledge, and he would ask captains for imperiled vessel. in case the Coast Guard requests their assistance with a rescue “You get an awful lot of them,” agrees Captain Goldthorp.
by continuously proving themselves in tough conditions. feedback to improve his performance at the helm. He came in RIGHT: Windsurfers and other on the Bay. “One guy I’ve rescued twice. The wind had died and he was
Seeing a need for an organized process, President Joe Burgard, on his free time to train, took his Coast Guard course and exam, water-sports enthusiasts have also Occasionally a serious emergency occurs, such as the day just sitting on his board.”
who has been with the Fleet since 1999, created an in-house and, after six years of hard work, became a captain in 2012. been known to get stranded on the Captain Goldthorp came to the aid of a group of Sea Scouts “I’ve done as many as two in one trip,” said Captain Alan Cull.
program for those looking to move up. The company’s focus on in-house training is not new. Bay, and the Red and White Fleet is whose boat had overturned in rough water. “[It was] just And what do passengers have to say about these emergency
“We didn’t really have a methodology for that, so I worked Thomas Crowley felt strongly about having a pathway for always available to assist the Coast absolutely fortunate. I was coming from the Golden Gate stops? “Usually they’re very interested in what’s going on . . .
to create clear guidelines and have it be procedural.” These employees to move up, and had protocols in place in the early Guard in a rescue. Bridge around Alcatraz . . . and I saw what I thought was and very understanding of the process,” says Captain Williams.
guidelines involve completing necessary paperwork, extensive 1900s for them to do so. During interviews conducted in the something in the water. It was fairly windy and fairly rough, “I’ve never had any occasion where anyone has complained
book study and quizzes, a practical nonoperating exam, and 1960s, Crowley recalled that some of his employees “. . . started and the Sea Scouts had a boat that had sailed out of the cove because of a delay.”
a specified amount of helm time with Red and White Fleet as deck-boys, then became deckhands, then became mates, and
captains, all of which occurs on the employee’s own time. then they became captains. They had very good training before
It’s a tough program, with no guarantees. Even once the they were ever allowed to go on the bridge.”
requirements are completed, not everyone is promoted to Not everyone who achieves the level of captain enjoys the
captain. “There’s knowing the book side, but then there’s other change. “The feeling of responsibility changes dramatically,”
soft qualities. Things like leadership and judgment, crew notes Burgard. Many sailors, even those who are qualified to
management . . . You have to have more than just the license drive the boats, find that they prefer to remain at the level of
for us to say you can drive our boats,” Burgard explained. deckhand, which offers more opportunities to interact with
One success story has been Captain Evan Williams, who customers and help create the atmosphere of the cruise. “I liked
started at the Red and White Fleet in 2006 as a ticket seller, yelling at people,” jokes retired deckhand Tyree Willis, referring
knowing that he wanted to be a captain. to a deckhand’s responsibility to keep passengers off of railings
“Evan was one of the first to really methodologically go or other unsafe situations. “The extra responsibility of being a
through the process. He was a great candidate to transition captain didn’t appeal to me.” Regardless, for those who wish to
through this procedure,” said Burgard. move up, it is a long road of commitment and hard work, and
Williams got his union card and started showing up for certainly an accomplishment worth celebrating.

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