April marks 29 years for John McIlroy as a Blue & Gold Fleet employee, 15 of which have been spent in his current role as port engineer. Based in San Francisco, "I started out as a deckhand and did that for a couple years," he said.
Blue & Gold Fleet’s San Francisco Port Engineer, John McIlroy, in front of the Golden Bear, one of the 15 boats that he works on in San Francisco Bay. Photo by Matt Larson
By Matt Larson
Published: April, 2013
April marks 29 years for John McIlroy as a Blue & Gold Fleet employee, 15 of which have been spent in his current role as port engineer. Based in San Francisco, "I started out as a deckhand and did that for a couple years," he said. "When we had a low passenger count, there was always maintenance to do so I volunteered for that. I liked working on the boats better than going around in circles."
McIlroy and his crew are accountable for just about any ferry boat you see in the San Francisco Bay Area. "We have all the ferry service in the Bay, except for the Golden Gate," McIlroy said. "Sausalito, Tiburon, Angel Island, South San Francisco, Harbor Bay, Alameda/Oakland—the only other ones I don’t take care of are up in Vallejo."
In our last issue, Port Engineer Bryan Hoffman of Vallejo alluded to the extreme work schedule of being in charge of ferry maintenance. McIlroy agreed. "You’ve got to keep your phone on all the time," he said. "Sometimes the phone rings all night, sometimes it doesn’t ring at all. Usually we’ll try to talk the captains through what their problems are. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but I try to solve the problem over the phone or just tell them to tie the boat up until morning."
Most people may not be so keen on the idea of taking their work home with them, but such is not the case for McIlroy. "It keeps me in touch with what’s going on so I don’t come in Monday morning and get blindsided with a whole list of issues," he said. "It just helps, knowing what I’ll get into in the morning. I don’t get calls every weekend or night, but sometimes it happens and I respond accordingly."
And, when issues with the ferry service occur, it’s not always as easy as looking through an instruction booklet to solve any given problem. "When you go to the doctor you can tell them what’s wrong with you. But, similar to dealing with infants and animals, you’ve got to look for signs and know what you’re looking for," McIlroy said. "Some things stand out real obviously, other things don’t, so you’ve got to look back at the history and try to decipher what’s going on. Sometimes you’ve got to figure out what the problem is before you can solve it."
Originally from Orinda, McIlroy lives in Pleasant Hill with his wife Karla. "I’ve been in the Bay Area my whole life," he said. His three children are all grown up, but visit fairly often. "All my kids bring their dogs over to my house, so I babysit my granddogs on a regular basis. I have two to six dogs in my house at any given time." McIlroy worked at a veterinary hospital for several years before joining Blue & Gold, so his kids know their dogs are in good hands.
McIlroy is accustomed to acting on the spot, be it a surprise visit from his granddogs or a call from the Coast Guard in regards to any one of the 15 boats he works on in San Francisco. It’s that dynamic work environment that’s kept McIlroy around so long.
"It hasn’t really been the same job for 29 years," McIlroy explained. "No matter what you’re expecting, everything changes. Minute to minute. You have a work list in front of you for the day and five minutes later you’re off on 20 different projects." McIlroy loves dealing with the Coast Guard, be it coordinating dry docks, inspections or reinspections. "A day doesn’t go by where I’m not talking or emailing with the Coast Guard," he said. "One of my favorite parts of the job is that interaction, and there’s always a new challenge. That’s what keeps me going every day."
