Blue & Gold Fleet Expands

M/V BAY MONARCH Docks at Pier 41

Blue & Gold Fleet, the Bay Area’s largest ferry, bay cruise and land tour excursion operator welcomed the newest vessel in its fleet, the M/V BAY MONARCH, at its Pier 41 home port over the July 4th holiday.

The BAY MONARCH was built in 1976 in Stockton, CA. She measures just over 127-feet in length and weighs in at 97 gross tons, with a maximum speed of 15 knots. The vessel is Coast Guard certified for 788 passengers, the largest capacity of any vessel in Blue & Gold’s fleet.

Previously owned by Catalina Cruises in Southern California, the BAY MONARCH transported passengers between the Los Angeles area and Catalina Island. However, she’s no stranger to San Francisco Bay. The BAY MONARCH was one of several vessels brought up the coast and pressed into emergency ferry service immediately following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and closure of the Bay Bridge. Today, the BAY MONARCH joins her sister ships, the BAY CLIPPER and BAY FLYER plying the waters between Fisherman’s Wharf , Angel Island and Tiburon.

The BAY MONARCH is the tenth vessel in the company’s fleet. Blue & Gold also operates four more vessels under contract with Vallejo and Alameda/Oakland, for a total of 14 vessels.