Noted Bay Area photographer, naturalist and all-around bon vivant Sandra Canon has for some time offered whale watching tours and now branches out to give the public a fascinating opportunity to get up and close and personal with the stunningly beautiful lighthouses of the Golden Gate.
Published: June, 2004
On Sundays, a rare and elegant tour of Bay Area lighthouses can be had by the brave of heart. This is a true maritime history tour that allows you to photograph these historic lighthouses from a water-side view on board the motor yacht, The Five Star Yacht. This US Coast Guard approved yacht is used to carry from 30 to 59 passengers and has a comfortable interior salon and outer decks for unobstructed photography.
You join the tour on Sundays in Sausalito, near the Bay Model at Schoonmaker Marina before the 1:00 pm departure. There is a cash bar on board and snacks are served. The tour begins with the 1883 Lime Point Light under the north side of the Golden Gate Bridge and moves out to Point Bonita Lighthouse, visiting Mile Rocks Light and Fort Point Light on the return. Then the tour wanders along the south side of the city and visits Alcatraz Lighthouse and Yerba Buena. A side trip past Red Rock then brings you to East Brothers Light in the middle of San Pablo Bay.
The Bay Area is home to large number of historic lighthouses, many with 1st order Fresnel lenses, like Point Bonita, whose light can be seen some seventeen miles out in the ocean. This is a major accomplishment for 1883 technology that is still in use today. Unlike their East Coast brothers, the Bay Area’s lights were never built up on high ridges, as the fog would more quickly obscure the light.
Alcatraz light celebrated 150 years of service on June 1st, and people’s fascination with such structures remains undimmed. For the seaman’s eye view of these lighthouses, you can join the Sunday tour and in particular, on June 6th, the President of the US Lighthouse Society, Wayne Wheeler, will narrate.
