Our Story
Red and White is a piece of San Francisco history and one of the oldest businesses operating in the San Francisco Bay Area.
In 1892, a seventeen-year-old Thomas Crowley launched the company by buying a Whitehall boat with $80 he had saved. He used to supply the tall ships anchored in San Francisco Bay.
The company's tour boat business began operations in 1915 to serve the Panama Pacific International Exposition, a world's fair held in San Francisco that year. By 1939, once San Francisco’s famous bridges were completed, Red and White Fleet began to operate scenic boat cruises to showcase to the world San Francisco’s natural and urban beauty, which to this day mesmerizes visitors from around the globe.
Even today, Red and White is still independent - family owned and operated.
The product we sell is a memory. The memory of seeing, feeling and hearing San Francisco and the Bay from the water, maybe for the first time. The friendliness of our staff, the quality of our vessels, the rich content of our narration, the delicious drinks onboard, all contribute to creating the best memories for our guests.
We are committed to environmental sustainability and community education.
We wish to serve our guests any way we can and feel honored to have served many generations of San Franciscans and Northern Californians, as well as millions of travelers from around the world.
If you are local to Northern California and looking for things to do in San Francisco this weekend, or if you are planning your next big vacation in California, we hope you pay the Red and White Fleet a visit while sightseeing San Francisco.
