Bay Crossings came across a classified ad in Latitudes 38, a local yachting circular, advertising a ferry for sale. We called the number listed and got Brad Sears, owner of the ferry for sale, on the phone and asked him what’s up:
Published: April, 2001
Bay Crossings came across a classified ad in Latitudes 38, a local yachting circular, advertising a ferry for sale. We called the number listed and got Brad Sears, owner of the ferry for sale, on the phone and asked him what’s up:
What’s this ferry you’ve got for sale?
It’s called the Victory I. I bought it in 1986 from three guys who worked the Golden Gate Ferry. They bought the Victory 1 and Victory 2 from the Hunters Point Shipyard, ran them up to the Montezuma Slough. It might be better termed a launch. It was licensed for 200 people coast wise, which is a lot of people to take out in a flat bottom boat on the ocean.
A Frenchman built it in 1943 at the San Pedro Boathouse. During that era, they built a lot of these boats for water taxis. It was employed by the H-10 Water Taxi Company in San Pedro Harbor, Los Angeles. Up until 1973 it was used in San Diego Harbor to run between the foot of Market Street and Coronado Island.
It was mostly military passengers, but I have a friend who grew up in San Diego and his dad used to take his family out on the Victory 1. It only cost a nickel so he could take the whole family out for a boat ride for less than a half a buck. It was termed "the nickel stealer." They built a bridge in the early 60’s but before that, you had to take a ferry to get to Coronado Island.
awaiting someone with the knowledge to pull it off.
It’s 63 feet long by 18 ½ feet wide. It draws about 3 feet with a real flat bottom. It’s all rebuilt and basically all it needs a new aft cabin.
I understand you also own the boat that serviced Alactraz when it was a working prison?
Yes, the Warden Johnson. I bought it from the Sea Scouts two years ago and I got the topside looking real good. A famous wooden workboat designer named L.H. Coolidge from Seattle designed it. He designed the miki, a military tug that was used in the bay. The Warden Johnson was the last tugboat with a cabin on it. It made 250,000 trips between the city front and Alcatraz.
For more information, contact
Brad Sears
1517 5th Avenue
San Rafael, CA 94901
415-456-1870
Photos by Dennis Anderson @ www.dandersonphoto.com
