Deckhand Don Storz

Don Storz has been a deckhand for Blue & Gold Fleet for the past 16 years, and he’s had seniority for 15 of them. “I got pretty lucky,” he said. “I got seniority with Blue & Gold within a year and one week from when I started.” And he’s been going strong ever since. 

 

“I’ve had the privilege of working with a lot of really, really good, professional guys,” said Storz, who couldn’t say enough about the quality of his co-workers. “I love the job. Especially working with the commuters, they’re always nice. Sometimes they’re a little bit tired and grumpy, but then you say, “How ya doin’? How was your day?” and it perks them up. I enjoy talking to them, it’s a good thing for me.” 

 

Storz couldn’t choose a favorite part of his job. “It’s all good, there are no bad parts,” he said. “Maybe a messy toilet now and then, but hey, we’ve got George Shelhorn to come show me how to do that,” Storz laughed, referencing the profile of Shelhorn in last month’s issue. 

 

Storz is pleased to be working in Vallejo, not just because of the easy commute from his home in Benicia, but because of the “office” he gets to work in. “Up in Vallejo we’ve got the nicest fleet of boats in the Bay,” said Storz. “We keep them the cleanest, they’re always in top operating order—the engineering department does a great job of keeping them operating properly—and so we [the deckhands] have the easy part of it.”

 

Storz recalls a memorable experience from working on the San Francisco Bay: “I was up in the wheelhouse and the captain had to make a real quick left turn because a whale came up right in front of the boat,” he said. “Fortunately we missed the big guy. And he was a big one.” Another time they noticed a windsurfer hanging out in the water with an extra board on hand. “We were worried about who belonged to that other board,” Storz said. “Everyone on the boat, passengers included, was looking around for a body floating around somewhere. It just so happened the Coast Guard picked up a guy at Alcatraz who was stranded with just a sail. It all turned out well and the fella got his board back.” 

 

Being a deckhand is sort of a second career for Storz, as he is the former owner and operator of Benicia Equipment Repair Company. “I had my own business for 20 years working on industrial equipment: forklifts, cranes, trucks, trailers, things like that,” he said. “At one time I had eight mechanics working, five service trucks and a part-time secretary in the office,” he said. “We did good. I walked away clean.” When it came time to close the business, Storz began to think, “Now what?”

 

“When I took my shop down I was looking for something to do,” he said. “I was already on Social Security. A good friend of mine, Richie Cahill, who works on the Golden Gate Ferry, said I should work on the ferry boats. He got me started! And at my age of 64, it was all fun for me.” 

 

Thanks to employment with Blue & Gold, Storz has been having some of the best fun of his life, traveling the world with his wife Christine. They’ve been practically everywhere and are looking forward to England, Croatia and Prague later this year. Their free time is spent planning for their next adventure. 

 

Storz has loved the job since he began, and doesn’t plan on quitting anytime soon. “I’m sneaking up on 80 in a few more months and they’re still letting me work!” he smiled. “As long as I can take care of my end of the job I’ll keep going. There’s a fellow who works for Blue & Gold who’s in his 80s,” Storz said. “My wife says, ‘As long as he’s working, you’re going to keep working too.’”