Gas Light Charters

Specialties

The Schooner Gas Light offers private charter sailing excursions on the San Francisco Bay. This beautiful replica of a traditional 1874 San Francisco Bay and Delta Scow Schooner is the perfect way to sail the SF Bay with up to 50 guests. This sailing yacht can be chartered for special events including San Francisco Giants games, America’s Cup viewing, weddings, ash scatterings, corporate team building, private parties, educational programs, ecological and naturalist-​led Bay tours, and more.

Gas Light is docked at Schoonmaker Point Marina in Sausalito, California, which gives us easy access to the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco skyline. Sail in comfort! Gas Light’s unique design offers the most stable, dry and comfortable sailing experience on the Bay. Help raise the sails or take the helm, relax with a glass of wine or enjoy the spacious well-​lit cabin below during your unforgettable private charter experience. Come join us for a memorable SF Bay cruise.

History

Established in 1991.

Gas Light is the result of one man’s labor and passion, Billy Martinelli. In 1989 this native of San Francisco with over 30 years of maritime experience decided it was time to build a boat that spoke to the traditions and conditions of the San Francisco waterways. He had spent many years serving as crew and shipwright on wooden schooners so it was natural that when it was time to build his own boat, he chose to build a scow schooner. His decision to build a scow schooner was the result of research and a desire to build a boat of exceptional stability and comfort. In 1991 he launched the bare hull into the Bay. Nine years later Gas Light was completed and certified by the US Coast Guard to carry up to 50 passengers.

Meet the Business Owner

Billy M.

Business Owner

In 1969 Billy took a job as a night watchman on the Balclutha, the centerpiece of the National Maritime Museum ship collection now berthed at the Hyde Street Pier in San Francisco. It was soon discovered by those involved in the restoration of the ship that Billy was a skilled woodworker, and they quickly hired him on to help in the reconstruction effort. As it turns out, Billy’s grandfather, Nils Christiansen, had been a seaman on the Balclutha when it had been named the Star of Alaska. During this period he learned from a generation of craftsmen with vast knowledge and experience on traditional vessels. Riggers, ship’s carpenters, and historians shared what they knew with Billy and he paid attention. When Billy took an apprenticeship on the Wanderbird in Sausalito his romance with schooners began. Over the next few years Billy became an accomplished sailor as well as craftsman. He voyaged on the Mayan, owned by David Crosby of Crosby, Stills and Nash, and other schooners.