Golden Gate Ferry

Area served	San Francisco Bay Area, CA
Start of Operation	August 15, 1970
Routes	5 (3 Commmute, 2 Event)
Fleet Size	7
Weekday Ridership	250,836 (July 2019)

Golden Gate Ferry is a ferry service of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District, connecting Marin County with San Francisco.

History

• November 10, 1969 - Assembly Bill 584 passes through California State Legislature allowing Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District to operate ferries and busses to help reduce traffic along the Golden Gate Corridor.
• January 12, 1970 - Philip F. Spaulding and Associates contracted for system design.
• August 15, 1970 - First route established SF - Sausalito with M.V. Golden Gate.
• December 11, 1976 - Second route established, San Francisco - Larkspur, with three Spaulding Class Vessels. Service began with G.T. Marin.
• March 7, 1977 - G.T. Sonoma enters service on SF - Larkspur route.
• September 12, 1977 - G.T. San Francisco enters service on SF - Larkspur route.
• June 12, 1978 - San Francisco Ferry Building opens for Golden Gate Ferry.
• November 17, 1985 - Spaulding Class Vessels converted from turbine to diesel propulsion (prefix changed from G.T. to M.S.).
• September 8, 1998 - First high speed catamaran ferry, named MV Del Norte, expands service on Larkspur route.
• September 10, 2001 - Second high speed catamaran ferry, named MV Mendocino, enters service on Larkspur route.
• March 26, 2004 - Original MV Golden Gate retired
• May 28, 2009 - First ex-Washington State Ferries MV Snohomish enters service on Larksur route
• June 10, 2009 - Ex-Washington State Ferries MV Snohomish re-named as MV Napa.
• June 10, 2011 - Second ex-Washington State Ferries vessel,MV Chinook, re-named as MV Golden Gate.
• March 6, 2017 - Added third route, San Francisco - Tiburon

Routes

Commute

• San Francisco - Larkspur: Service to and from San Francisco Ferry Building and Larkspur ferry terminal, weekdays and weekends
• San Francisco - Sausalito: Service to and from San Francisco Ferry Building and Sausalito ferry terminal, weekdays and weekends
• San Francisco - Tiburon: Service to and from San Francisco Ferry Building and Tiburon ferry terminal (via Tiburon as of 2021). Weekdays only.

Event

• Larkspur to Oracle Park, SF: SF Giants game day service
• Larkspur to Chase Center, SF: Warriors game day service

Operations

As of February 2022, these are rough observations on which vessels are used in service at a given moment.

Weekday

• M/V Mendocino: Larkspur - SF
• M/V Del Norte: Larkspur - SF
• 1 Spaulding Class: Sausalito-SF
• 1 Spaulding Class: Tiburon-SF

Weekend

Typically 2 Spaulding-Class vessels, and 1 catamarran are used, one per route.

Chase Center

• 1 Spaulding Class: Larkspur - SF Chase Center

Vessels Undergoing Off-site Servicing

• Golden Gate - Currently under servicing
• M/V Del Norte - To enter servicing soon at Bay Ship and Yacht, returning in mid-September 2022

Vessels

Name	Thumbnail	Year	City built	Class	Passenger capacity	Route(s) served	Notes
Marin		November 1976	San Diego, CA	Spaulding Class	750	Sausalito Tiburon	Campbell Industries Hull No 96 Launched April 10, 1976 Originally powered by gas turbine/water jets Converted to diesel engine/propeller drive and re-entered service in June 1985 Refubished November 2006 to July 2007 for a cost of $6 million In new livery Used mainly weekends to Sausalito/Tiburon and Larkspur
Sonoma		December 1976	San Diego, CA	Spaulding Class	630	Sausalito Tiburon	Originally powered by gas turbine/water jets Converted to diesel engine/propeller drive and re-entered service in November 1985 Rebuilt and delivered in new livery, 6/2021 Powered by 2 MTU 12V4000M64 Used mainly weekends to Sausalito/Tiburon and Larkspur
San Francisco		September 1977	San Diego, CA	Spaulding Class	630	Sausalito Tiburon	Campbell Industries Hull No 95 Launched 1974 Originally powered by gas turbine/water jets Converted to diesel engine/propeller drive and re-entered service in December 1985 Formerly Powered by 2 Detroit Diesel 16V-149TIB engines In new livery as of 2018. Powered by 2 MTU 12V4000M64 Collided with seawall and pier at San Francisco Ferry Building, 11/23/2018 Repair to the vessel costed $850,000 Used mainly weekends to Sausalito/Tiburon and Larkspur Features historical ferry photos and a piece of cable from the Golden Gate Bridge
Del Norte		July 25, 1998	Anacortes, WA	AMD 360B	400	Spare	Originally operated on Larkspur route Has sported three different liveries
Mendocino		June 22, 2001	Freeland, WA	None	450	Larkspur	Undergoing repair/refurbishment in San Diego as of August 2021
Napa		1999	Anacortes, WA	AMD 385	450	Larkspur	Launched in August 1999 Ex-Washington State Ferries Snohomish, used on Seattle-Bremerton and Seattle-Vashon Island run Built with loading platform for use on car slips Taken out of service in 2003, listed on ebay in 2007 Re-entered service on Seattle-Port Townsend run December 13, 2007 Purchased for $2 million, less than half the original asking price of 4.5 million Underwent refurbishment in June 2011
Golden Gate		1998	Anacortes, WA	AMD 385	450	Larkspur	Ex-Washington State Ferries Chinookused on Seattle-Bremerton and Seattle-Vashon Island run Taken out of service in 2003, listed on ebay in 2007 Purchased for $2 million, less than half the original asking price of 4.5 million Refurbished in Washington in 2011.

Leased Vessels

Name	Thumbnail	Year	City built	Class	Passenger capacity	Route(s) served	Notes
Millennium		1998	East Coast, USA	None	400	Relief	Owned by Rhode Island Fast Ferry Not purchased due to CARB Emissions standards Leased from February 2019-June 2020

Retired vessels

Name	Thumbnail	Year	City built	Class	Passenger capacity	Route(s) served	Notes
Golden Gate		May 1970	San Diego, CA	None	575	San Francisco / Sausalito	First vessel in the Golden Gate Ferry Fleet First boat in the second wave of ferry service in the Bay Area Originally built and operated in San Diego as M.V Point Loma Bought for $900,000, used from a San Diego tour boat company 115 feet in length Entered service in August 1970 Three plaques dedicated to former riders: Joseph Santiago, Peter Richards Brown, Don Beers Seen in 2001 movie "Serendipity" Retired on March 26, 2004 after 432,108 round trips and 1.3 million nautical miles

External Links

• http://goldengateferry.org

References

• http://goldengateferry.org/researchlibrary/fleet.php
• http://goldengateferry.org/researchlibrary/history.php