A Gathering of Bears

The San Francisco Bay Bear Boat Association is sailing again! Bear Boats are 23-ft woodies designed and built at the Nunes Boat Yard in Sausalito in the early ‘30s for San Francisco Bay sailing conditions. Conceived by Ernest Nunes and Marty Martinson, the first keel was laid late in 1931. By the summer of ’32, the new boat was ready for its first sea trial. Onlookers reported that Commodore Cliff Smith of San Francisco YC praised the effort, telling young Ernest Nunes, "That is a bear of boat." The name stuck and a unique class, indigenous to San Francisco Bay, was born.

Active and highly competitive racing continued through the ’90s with as many as 69 boats in the fleet. But the Bear Class grew quiet; like their racing sailors of the halcyon days of the ’50s and ’60s, the boats have aged. The Bear Boat Association has been quiet for several years, but has recently been revived and is picking up steam. The first meeting in many years took place at the Corinthian Yacht Club on June 27, the evening before the Wooden Boat Show.

The next meeting will take place Wednesday, August 5, at 7 p.m. at Aeolian YC in Alameda, and we encourage anyone interested in this classic boat to stop by. For more info on the association, go to our website at www.bearboats.com.