Page 79 - RedWhiteFleet_interiors_Sep10

ALCATRAZ scariest.” The “Around the Rock” tours, which happened three
Closed as a prison in 1963, Alcatraz was home to some of times a day, were also narrated by Frank Heaney, one of
the country’s most notorious inmates. The prison’s sordid the Rock’s youngest guards, who, according to Willis, would
history makes it a spooky destination for Bay Area tourists recount personal anecdotes of Robert “Birdman” Stroud and
and residents alike, and when the island was first opened George “Machine Gun” Kelly.
to visitors in 1973, the Red and White Fleet won the first The Golden Gate Bay Cruise also continued through LEFT & ABOVE: Alcatraz Island
contract to take visitors around the island. this era, making it the longest-running narrated tour in San and its prison have always held a
Former deckhands and captains remember the Alcatraz Francisco. This was still in the era before prerecorded audio certain mystique for San Francisco
tour fondly, with many anecdotes about the vivid characters tours, so the narration had to be delivered live each time. visitors, as this photograph taken
who would take the ferry trip back and forth from The crew member narrating the tour was referred to as “the well before the start of the official
Alcatraz excursion shows. When it
the mainland. One such individual was Leon “Whitey” talker,” often considered one of the most fun assignments was opened to the public in the early
Thompson, a bank robber who had been released from on board. Over the years, through various tours, Willis 1970s, Red and White Fleet jumped
the prison and was often on the tour of Alcatraz to regale remembers assorted “talkers”: “Deckhand Jim Punch was at the new business opportunity and
passengers about his experiences there. In the words of great; he sounded like a pirate. . . . Frank Woodard, who was secured the first contract granting
longtime deckhand Tyree Willis, he was “a little guy who a historian, would tell the history of San Francisco from the the right to direct tours around the
fabled island. The ticket pictured
looked like Santa . . . one of the nicest guys ever and one of the Gold Rush days on the Sacramento River tour.” above shows the affordable rate the
company offered for the tour.

OPPOSITE: Although Alcatraz
tours are no longer among the
Red and White Fleet offerings, the
prominent island is still a favorite
point of interest for guests out on
the Bay.

FOLLOWING PAGES: Brochure
pages (left) and a postcard (right)
from the 1960s advertise the Red and
White Fleet’s up-close tour around
Alcatraz Island.

78 • Red and White Fleet