Links for All Topics

Photographs by Thomas Herter.

A searchable nationwide database of boats for sale by owner (whereas boats.com is mostly brokerage listings).

Sponsor of the Tall Ships Challenge, a series of sailing races, cruises, crew rallies, and maritime festivals up and down the pacific coast.

General boating links.

Web cam view looking north from the visitor's center, with a view of Ayala Cove and Racoon Strait. Check the docks to see if slips are available!

On Angel Island you can take a narrated tour of the island on a tram, or rent bikes if you're more energetic. Sea Kayak tours are also available. All services are seasonal and have limited days and hours.

Online service for checking availability of Angel Island campsites and making reservations.

Everything you need to know about visiting Angel Island.

A great web site for learning the basic boating knots.

Helps disabled people enjoy sailing

Annual "not quite a race" from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas; loosely affiliated with Latitude 38.

BART connects San Francisco to as far south as Millbrae on the peninsula, as far east as Pittsburg, and to Richmond, Berkeley, Oakland, and as far south as Fremont in the east bay.

By San Francisco bay area fishing expert Hippo Lau.

Available free at many locations, you can also subscribe to this magazine. The print version is quite worthwhile, especially for Delta boaters; unfortunately, there is very little on their Web site.

The central resoruce for information on public transportation in the bay area.

Extensive U.S. Geological Service database of maps and aerial photos, all available free on the Web.

Information on fishing near San Francisco, especially for tuna.

A free magazine that also publishes all of its content on the Web. Oriented toward ferry riders and other maritime interests. Interesting articles on bay area waterfront living.

Online chandlery with ebay-like auctions for boating equipment, forums, articles and more, covering the entire U.S.

New and used boat listings. Predominantly east-coast powerboats.

An extensive set of boating links for the west coast. Also covers other areas.

Extensive listings for new and "pre-owned' boats, searchable by size, manufacturer, price, and location. Boat model listings from over 375 boat builders and used boat listings from boat dealers and yacht brokers worldwide.

Searchable database of boats for sale, from individuals and brokers.

The C.A. Thayer is a 219-foot schooner built in 1895. Part of the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park, the vessel is now undergoing a $9.3-million, two-year restoration.

The best source for information about the Delta. Originally created by the late Hal Schell, who was for decades the Delta's most prolific and inspiring writer.

Train service between San Francisco and San Jose.

Article from 2001; a visitor's guide to Sausalito.

History of the China Clippers, the airplanes that once landed in China Cove and provided the first passenger air service across the Pacific.

Includes a variety of visitor information as well as information on city services and government.

An excellent site for information about fishing in San Francisco bay and the surround coast.

Craig's List is a San Francisco-based phenomenon in online classified ads. The boats category is not further divided or classified, so sorting the the mish-mash takes some time, but there is a good search function and lots of new listings every day.

Looking out over the pond at Crissy Field toward Sausalito. A great view of the bay, just inside the Golden Gate Bridge.

Lists Delta boating facilities and boats for sale.

Directory of boating facilities on the delta, with charts showing the location of each.

Buy a cruising powerboat in an online auction.

Buy a cuddy-cabin powerboat in an online auction.

Buy a dinghy or other boat in an online auction. (eBay's "other" category includes a wide variety of listings.)

Buy a fishing boat in an online auction.

Buy a boat in an online auction. This category includes a variety of powerboats longer than 27 feet, including speedboats and other performance-oriented boats. Try the other categories for more specific listings.

Buy a boat in an online auction. This category includes miscellaneous powerboats less then 20 feet long, including speedboats and other performance-oriented boats. See the other categories for specific types of boats.

Buy a boat in an online auction. This category includes various types of powerboats between 20 and 27 feet long, including speedboats and other performance-oriented boats. See the other categories for more specific searches.

Buy a runabout in an online auction.

Buy a sailboat between 20 and 27 feet long in an online auction.

Buy a sailboat 28 feet or longer in an online auction.

Buy a sailboat of 20 feet or less in length in an online auction.

Buy a ski boat or a wakeboarding boat in an online auction.

Excellent site with details on Donald McKay's clipper ships.

Online site for this fishing newspaper.

Annual visit of Navy ships in the bay. Parade of ships on Saturday, and air show Saturday and Sunday. Some ships also open for visiting.

New site providing free listings for gear and boats for sale in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Web cam view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the room of the Exploratorium (in the Palace of Fine Arts).

The GGNRA includes Alcatraz, the Marin Headlands, Nike Missile Site, Fort Mason, Fort Point, and the Presidio. The site provides information on all these locations.

Provides sail training and supports tall ships visiting San Francisco Bay.

This wonderful tool from David Rumsey of Cartography Associates enables you to view and compare various historical maps of San Francisco, which have been aligned to a consistent coordinate system so they correlate.

Great site with lots of information about the fascinating history of the ferryboat Vallejo, which formed the nucleus of the houseboat community in Sausalito. Once the home of Alan Watts and artist Jean Varda.

Excellent article on how to increase your success rate when trolling for Salmon.

PDF file with color photos of different salmon species, plus drawings of other ocean sportfish.

A great interactive map that shows many points of interest.

John Stobart has painted dozens of wonderfully detailed, beautiful paintings of ships and harbors in the age of sail.

Web cam from KPIX TV.

More a view of the traffic than a view of the bay, but at least it shows how much fog there is at the bridge -- and, if you have to cross the bridge to get to your boat, what the drive will be like.

View of the Bay Bridge toll plaza.

Latitude 38 is a free monthly magazine that covers the sailing scene in Northern California, with lots of discussion of Mexico, the Caribbean, and other cruising destinations. But if you're a sailor in the bay area, you already know all this; everyone reads it!

Extensive listing of sailboat races and other boating events.

Great local listing of boats and related items for sale by owner. Sailboat focused, but includes dinghies and some power boats.

The Local Notice to Mariners is the Coast Guard's way of communicating updates to charts and other special or new conditions.

Click on the map to choose a Web cam.

The U.S. Geological Survey has created a detailed map of the bay as part of the report "Shifting Shoals and Shattered Rocks: How Man Has Transformed the Floor of West-Central San Francisco Bay.

Web cam at the Marina Bay Yacht Club, overlooking Marina Bay Harbor in Richmond.

This NPS site is the official source for information about Alcatraz.

A fantastic site about the construction of the new Bay Bridge, with construction details, design information, lots of photos (include many taken by bridge workers), and information on the people building the bridge.

To keep up with the latest in San Francisco area fishing conditions, there's no better way than to subscribe to this email newsletter.

Department of Fishing and Game sportfishing regulations.

View from the Berkeley Marina to the Golden Gate.

Great ship by and workboat photos, created by a tug boat captain.

Web cam from Pier 39.

If you want to fish from shore, this is a great resource to find piers to fish from.

Photos from SF Bay Images.

RBOC is a lobbying organization that works to protect the rights of boaters and guide lawmakers toward informed decisions on marine-related issues.

Larry Ellison's gargantuan Rising Sun, at 453 feet the world's largest yacht, is for sale for a reported $277 million. He spent $373 million building it.

San Francisco State University's marine research center on the east Tiburon peninsula.

"The Interactive Guide to the San Joaquin Delta" lists marinas, restaurants, and other facilities.

Sponsor of tall ship gatherings in San Francisco Bay.

Guidelines for identifying salmon species.

Web cam from Sam's Cafe in Tiburon, looking across the bay to San Francisco.

The San Francisco Bar Pilots guide all commercial ships into the bay.

Lots of pictures and stories about many ferry boats that served the bay in the pre-bridge era.

Web site of San Francisco's main newspaper. Extensive restaurant listings, as well as movies, theater, and much more.

An excellent report on area fishing conditions, updated every Thursday.

Lots of information about hotels, restaurant, and attractions in San Francisco.

The Maritime Park at the foot of Hyde St. includes a great selection of ships and the excellent museum and visitor center.

Extensive directory of local fishing charter boats.

Dragon boats are a traditional Chinese rowing craft, like a large canoe with a dragon carved in the bow and a tail at the stern. They are paddled by teams of 16 to 24 people. Dragon boat racing is a fascinating spectator sport, and the annual race on San Francisco Bay provides a great opportunity to see it.

Where to find the sturgeon in San Pablo Bay.

List of local businesses and information on public events.

Photos and stories of old Sausalito.

A great view across the bay to San Francisco from the Sausalito Yacht Club, adjacent to the ferry dock. Watch the ferries come and go too!

Extensive directory of everything related to schooners and tall ships.

Northern California sea temperature map -- to find where the Albacore will be.

Stock photos of tall ships, san francisco bay, sailboats, more.

Online crew lists (look for crew or find a crew spot for yourself), discussion forums, cruising logs, business listings, and more.

Live VHF radio streaming on the Internet -- listen to VHF radio from San Francisco or Monterey Bay.

Sail training program, affiliated with San Francisco State University.

Succinct reference to the various tall ship rigs from the Maritime Heritage Project.

Steve Priske's collection of photos of Clipper ships built on the west coast in the

Monitors and guides all large vessel traffic on San Francisco Bay.

Article on the restoration of the C. A. Thayer.

A monthly boating newspaper, published in northern and southern California versions. Distributed free at local chandleries and other waterfront locations. Good online resources as well.

A 71-foot, gaff-rigged, square-tops'l ketch refit to the specifications of an 18th-century dispatch gunboat/bomb ketch.

All you need to know about staying within the law -- and doing what's right to protect our bay -- when it comes to dealing with your waste.

Lists of local Tiburon businesses and other town information.

State of California recommendations for limits on how much locally-caught fish people should eat.

The TIDA is responsible for the future development of Treasure Island.

The Treasure Island Museum was closed in 1997, but this organization continues to try to preserve its contents and work toward its reopening.

Web cam from the Treasure Island Yacht Club, looking west toward Alcatraz.

A detailed look at the 1939 World's Fair (Golden Gate International Exposition), for which Treasure Island was built.

A volunteer organization that works with the Coast Guard. They will inspect your boat for free and issue a Vessel Safety Check certificate (if you pass!), and they offer a variety of inexpensive boating classes.

Main site for the Coast Guard district covering all of California and most of Mexico's Pacific coast.

Fishing reports from Golden Gate charter boats.

Fishing reports from the bay fishing fleet.

Classified listings of boats for sale or for rent by owners

To get a free Vessel Safety Check, first visit this site to see what you need in order to pass. Then follow the links on the site to find an examiner to come examine your boat.

Includes many photographs of the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge.

The Warden Johnson was the Alcatraz prison launch from 1945 to 1961. She is now being restored by a non-profit group seeking to preserve this bit of bay history.

Great view from Sausalito across the bay to San Francisco. Worth a look even at night!

Directory of yachts for charter worldwide.

New and used boats for sale. Extensive nationwide listings.

Extensive searchable worldwide database (mostly U.S.) of boats for sale.