Oakland Outdoor Activities

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.

Golf legends Johnny Miller and Fred Bliss teamed up to design the course at Metropolitan Golf Links, and were rewarded with numerous accolades, such as the 2010 ELGA Chapter Award for Public Facilities from the GCSA of Northern California and Golf Digest. To achieve their links-style vision, the golf gurus incorporated the natural contours of the land and covered the terrain with omnipresent sand traps and modern turf hybrids. The result whisks golfers around a labyrinthine layout complete with straightaways, doglegs, and double doglegs, each made more difficult by heavy breezes that blow in from San Francisco Bay, which can disrupt shots and ground scorecard paper airplanes.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 72 course
• Total length of 6,959 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 73.8 from the back tees
• Course slope of 131 from the back tees
• Five sets of tees per hole
• Scorecard:m]]

Though Metropolitan Golf Links sometimes features a discounted price online, this Groupon still offers the best deal available.

Since 1978, the experienced captains at Rendezvous Charters have staged picturesque pirouettes through San Francisco Bay waters aboard a fleet of vessels, including two schooners, two yachts, and a slew of motor yachts. The seafaring specialists welcome passengers for cash-bar cruises aboard the Bay Lady, a custom-built schooner that accommodates up to 77 passengers and boasts a cockpit big enough to seat 56 people or 30 pandas with sailor caps. Rendezvous Charters also works with clients to plan private chartered cruises and team-building events for businesses and recreational groups.

The high-end fleet of Hornblower Cruises & Events fills ports up and down the California coast, as well as in New York, with similar eco-friendly extravagance. Founded by environmental engineer Terry MacRae, Hornblower puts its luxe navy to use hosting dining, entertainment, special-event, and sightseeing cruises, as well as journeying to such storied landmarks as Alcatraz Island and the Statue of Liberty. Beyond these cruises, Terry's team champions green practices through the Respect Our Planet initiative, which works to develop and promote earth-considerate practices such as using hybrid boats that draw power from the sun.

With its impenetrable fog, gusty wind, and rough currents, San Francisco Bay is known the world over as one of the most challenging places to sail. It's for this very reason that the San Francisco Sailing Company's Sailing School has set up shop here: "If you can sail the San Francisco Bay," they declare on their website, "you [can] sail anywhere in the world." The seasoned instructors instill what they know thoroughly and quickly. In fact, after completing just two two-day classes, students at the school earn their ASA certification and the confidence to sail the Bay on their own. The school offers loftier training, as well, providing the know-how needed to charter a multiday cruise on a big boat or navigate out on the open water.

Since 1961, Bamboo Reef has been unlocking the depths of the ocean by training scuba adventurers, outfitting them with gear and repairing equipment on the fritz. Skilled instructors guide swimmers during diving classes that range from paddling in an 82-degree pool to advanced night navigation in the Pacific's dunk tank. Refresher and specialty courses continue students’ aquatic education after they’ve mastered the basics of gliding through the deep blue. Bamboo Reef also coordinates dives off the shores of Monterey, Carmel, and international coasts that count toward specialty, advanced, and master diver ratings as well as black belts in underwater kickboxing.

The water wizards also rent and sell gear from brands such as Aqua Lung and Mares. Professional technicians—who maintain more than $10,000 in parts inventory—stand at the ready to repair all major brands of scuba equipment.