Living in the moment while escaping the ground, Seaplane Adventures led by Aaron Singer shows us why a Seaplane experience captures the imagination
There’s something romantic about flight. The idea that a metal tube with all its weight and screws could somehow propel itself into the sky through blankets of soft clouds only to float down to earth with soft landing on a hard tarmac. At face value it just doesn’t make sense but over the years we as humans have pushed the I believe button and taken to the sky for business and pleasure. Commercial flights aside there are some and probably just a few who take to the sky for pleasure, taking off to experience the world from above the traffic and come back down repeating the act countless times day after day. It is romantic.
For 75 years, the Commodore Seaplane Base and its resident seaplane service Seaplane Adventures (going by other names over the years), has taken that romantic feeling of flight to heart and whisked away tourists and locals alike from Richardson Bay to the surrounding skies above San Francisco and Marin County. What’s even more romantic is that these are Seaplanes. Taxing not on runways but Richardson bay quickly using a short bit of water to climb almost at first just by inches over the water and ascending quickly leaving the water below as still as it was before takeoff. A seaplane take-off no matter how many times you witness it will leave you with a feeling of nostalgia for something you might not have experienced, but a time when technology and aviation were first serving the world of human flight.
With so few actually in service around the world, a Seaplane is actually a rarity in this world, yet from Tam Junction one can witness the art of flight by these majestic aircraft on a daily basis. Seeing such a feat as flying from an aircraft propelling across the water and lifting into the air can only capture the imagination of those who truly dream of experiences beyond just the daily commute. They are a reminder that adventure can be had and passion still exists. But before we go any further let’s give a little history…
History in our backyard
The Commodore Seaplane Base was founded by a gentleman named Bob Law. He was a famous man in his own right. A veteran of WWII, Law spent his time in service as a member of the Black Cats flying PBY Catalina aircraft, a Seaplane purposely built in the Pacific theater for hunting submarines. These aircraft were painted black, flew at night, and those who flew them were made of the same metal which shrouded them inside the aircraft. Just flying the aircraft put the pilot in harms way as any detection by a Japanese submarine meant they could be quickly shot down for their lack of speed and maneuverability. His heroism is only more exemplified by the ability to take on a somewhat suicidal mission during the war and return safely given the circumstances. After the war, I can only imagine after such harrowing experiences to come home and get a “regular” job would be crushing to Law. So in 1946 he did what he knew best and opened a Seaplane base doing the thing that he loved and making the transition to civilian life a smoother landing. The Seaplane base would house both a place to teach future Seaplane pilots and an actual Seaplane service flying most notably between Lake Tahoe and the Bay Area. Law by 1951 had built the largest flight school in the west with an airline operating locally. The landscape back then was mostly rolling hills and picturesque scenery only Marin County could provide.
Moving forward over the decades, the Seaplane base and its anchor tenant would change hands with new owners several times. One thing for sure remained true, that it took incredibly passionate individuals who saw the same romance of seaplane flight as Law to sheppard the business forward. Today after 75 years, the Seaplane base and Seaplane Adventures, the current company, continues to fly. Interestingly enough, over the years the buildings that sat adjacent to the base were used as a music rehearsal space as famous acts such as the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane created and rehearsed their iconic music. It’s hard not to be romantic about Seaplanes and rock music history.
Seaplane adventures
Today, Seaplane Adventures is owned by Aaron Singer. A resident of Sausalito and long time aircraft aficionado. He is both the owner and pilot for the company. He invited me to his office located in an old kindergarten room adjacent to the aircraft sitting on the water. At first glance entering his office, I noticed right away a grouping of historic flight artifacts and early Mac computers and as it turns out, he’s a renaissance man. After leaving Oklahoma and exploring the world as a photographer he settled in the Bay Area on a career in technology. Just a few businesses and an IPO later he had made his way in the world both on his passions and his intellect. Flying itself became a passion of his and with an interest in the mechanical aspects of aircraft he pushed himself to explore aircraft becoming a mechanic himself and working on airplanes. Over the years his interest allowed him to become proficient in aircraft maintenance and flight as he became a rated pilot for both propeller and jet engine aircraft.
There’s certainly more to the story but I'll get to the point. He had taken a chance at another business that as he describes succumbed to the surrounding existential changes of the political environment at the time. Sitting in a suit in downtown San Francisco during a business wind down meeting, he happened to experience that feeling of serendipity. The Seaplane from the Commodore Seaplane Base on one of its flights was passing by the building low and slow as if to call out to him with what would later be the opportunity of a lifetime. Fast forward, today he owns Seaplane Adventures. As a shepherd of Seaplane flight and history, he is passionately bringing locals and tourists alike to this little strip of water just outside of Tam Junction and creating experiences that are from another time. Seaplanes are so rare that just maintaining them is an enormous undertaking. It’s people like him that will keep this piece of history flying and our imaginations going as we see them take flight every day!
On any given day in Tam Junction, one can hear the smooth sounds of an engine propeller guiding each Seaplane to its starting point in Richardson Bay. Within a few short seconds that plane is suspended in the air and one can’t help but look up and trace its path across a blue bird sky. It never gets old.
Seaplane Adventures offers flights from Richardson Bay around the Bay Area Skies. With flights of all flavors from Sunset experiences to Golden Gate Bridge views, one can pretty much expect to be awed regardless of the direction. Today, seaplane flight experiences are complemented by Helicopter flights taking off adjacent to the seaplanes.
Air tours are offered:
Helicopter:
Alcatraz City Sites Adventure
Golden Gate Helicopter Adventure
Alacatraz and City Sites Tour
Seaplane:
Golden Gate Tour
Greated Bay Area Tour
Sunset Champagne Tour
Norcal Coastal Tour
Morning in Marin Tour
We look forward to the next 75 years!
Address:
242 Redwood Highway Frontage Rd
Mill Valley, California 94941
Contact:
415-332-4843