Good vibes are plentiful on the ferry boats in the Bay Area, and the happiest person on board may very well be Donna O'Dea.
Donna O’Dea has always had an affinity for the water, so working on the ferry while showing off her expert bartending skills is a perfect fit.
BY MATT LARSON
Published: May, 2018
Good vibes are plentiful on the ferry boats in the Bay Area, and the happiest person on board may very well be Donna O’Dea. She works as a bartender on the ferry from Vallejo to San Francisco and, to put it mildly, she loves her job.
O’Dea’s first started bartending when she was 22 at Tony’s Place in Walnut Grove, right on the Delta off the Sacramento River. Over the years she did the rounds at the corporate restaurant chains, and she is thrilled to now be part of the ferry community.
“On the boat you’ve got your regulars, everybody’s super friendly, and I just love it,” she said. Working at the corporate chains, O’Dea said, she noticed a disconnect between the management and the clientele. Here on the ferry boats, she explained, she gets to express herself by setting up the bar in her own way so that she can give her customers the best possible experience. “It’s like a family here,” she said. “Nobody wants to leave, so that creates a kind of atmosphere that it’s a family, and we all look out for each other. It’s really cool.”
O’Dea has always had an affinity for the water, so working on the ferry while showing off her expert bartending skills is really a perfect fit. Growing up, her family owned a camper and a boat, and all of their friends had boats. “Even in cold weather we’d be out there on the water,” she said. “Plus I was on the swim team. Water was what we were! I just love it all the time.”
Aside from the familial coworkers and clientele, O’Dea loves the many sunsets she gets to see and photograph every single day. “I have a folder in my phone full of beautiful sunset pictures.” She also keeps her eyes out for aquatic life, and just saw her first humpback whale out there. “I was just thrilled!” she said. “I see the porpoises and the seals, and I never get tired of pulling into San Francisco, it just never gets old for me. Every day I walk out of that job saying ‘I love my job,’ and I do. It’s just perfect.”
Some of her favorite spots on the Bay are the Brothers and Angel Island. “I love that little spot right by Marin where you first get your glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge. I just like it all.” If you need any sightseeing tips on your journey to the city, O’Dea can help make sure you don’t miss a thing.
When she’s not making your day on the boat serving up your favorite cocktail, O’Dea is either cleaning up at the billiards table at the local pool league she plays in, or catching up on her history. “I like to know how things began,” she said.
She’s currently reading a series about King Arthur by Bernard Cornwell. “I’ve read this story probably a thousand times from different authors—my family origin on my mother’s side is from Celtic England. They didn’t have a lot of recorded history, it’s really just speculation. So there is mystery about it, not knowing exactly what happened—but you have all these tales and lore so you get to pick and choose what you might believe; I like figuring that out.” She’s read up plenty about King Arthur, Julius Caesar and Genghis Khan—how’s that for casual conversation at the bar?
Growing up in Vallejo and Benicia, O’Dea knows how tough it can be getting into San Francisco. “The first time I rode the boats I felt like I would never go to San Francisco another way,” she said. “I just want to encourage everybody who’s thinking—or not even thinking—about taking the ferry to try it, because it’s the best way to get to San Francisco.”
Whenever you finally do decide to hop on board, she’ll be there. “They’re never getting rid of me,” she laughed. “I’m telling you, I’m going to be there forever. I love it.”
