Things to Do in Concord

Though Captain Charles Jennings' former life includes stints as first officer and tugboat engineer aboard several historic water vessels, he now exclusively leads daily tours of San Francisco Bay on his 28-foot custom-built, U.S. Coast Guard–approved rigid inflatable boat. He calls upon his previous maritime experience when passing sites such as the SS Jeremiah O'Brien, which he served on during the vessel's 50th anniversary voyage. He also regales passengers with the bay's history, legend, and official twitter account while the boat skims the water at up to nearly 40 miles per hour, courtesy of its 300-horsepower Yamaha engine.

Most tours operate on set routes, highlighting the bay's verdant islands, mooring sites of abandoned Gold Rush ships, and estuaries teeming with still-active cargo ships and lost Marco Polo players. However, Captain Jennings is willing to deviate from the set structures to suit passengers' interests. As far as passenger safety and comfort are concerned, he equips his boat with first-aid kits, motion-sickness remedies such as ginger ale and ginger candies, dry storage for personal effects, and foul-weather gear.

Dan Bohn of Capt. Dan Classic Sails is a US Coast Guard–certified master mariner sailing captain who charters sunset and daytime sails aboard the Feral, a 40-foot double-ended wooden sloop. Captain Dan’s commitment to staying as true to the boat’s origins as possible has resulted in a nautically nostalgic vessel that is lit by a few navigation lights, several oil lamps, and the gleam from Poseidon’s eyes. The ship cuts through the water of San Francisco Bay toward sights such as Alcatraz and the Bay Bridge during his BYOB sails.

Teaching robotics at the Chabot Space & Science Center, Jutiki Gunter realized that his pupils had few robotics-learning resources outside the classroom. He aimed to fill that gap by founding Robotics for Fun in 2004, supplying students with a year-round space where they can construct robots and enrich their mathematic and scientific skills along the way. Gunter's team of instructors fills inquisitive minds with basic design and programming know-how, as well as teaching them how to make two robots communicate and fashion a racing robot programmed to express crippling anxiety. Students enrolled in the membership program tinker on themed projects throughout the year, while attendees of the Robotics for Fun summer camp study programming languages or the fundamentals of RC-vehicle technology.