The Matthew Turner is an educational brigantine available for custom educational programs, open water voyages, weekly public sails and a limited number of private charters annually on San Francisco Bay.
Sausalito’s historic boatbuilding community built Matthew Turner over seven years. The vessel passed the USCG inspection in 2017 and is now able to welcome passengers on board. The Turner is the largest wooden ship to be constructed in the Bay Area in more than 100 years. Shipwrights, sailors and other volunteers donated their time to this ambitious project. The ship is the vision of Alan Olson, a respected and generous visionary in the Bay Area maritime industry.
The brigantine is the namesake of Matthew Turner who was a local nineteenth-century American sea captain, shipbuilder and designer. He built over 200 vessels, most of which at his eponymously named shipyard in Benicia. He is a well-remembered and revered figure in the Pacific’s history of shipbuilding.
The brigantine Galilee, originally designed by Turner and launched in 1891, was the inspiration for Matthew Turner’s design. The Galilee spent much of her career on ocean passages between San Francisco and the South Seas. In 1933 she ended her sailing days on the Sausalito mudflats. The San Francisco Maritime Museum has preserved her stern at Fort Mason.
With 100 feet of deck space, this boat is the largest tall-ship available for sailing charters in the San Francisco Bay.
To charter the Matthew Turner for a private event or extended voyage please contact us. We would be happy to assist with your request.
