Harold Sommer

Harold Robert Sommer 85, of Sausalito, California, died Tuesday December 22, 2010. Harold was born in San Francisco, on October 31, 1925 to Carl and Loretta Sommer and grew up in Alameda, CA. Following a term in the Navy, Harold had a long and distinguished career with Crowley Maritime where he worked for over 49 years as a tugboat pilot. Harold married his former wife, Dolores Diehl in 1950 with whom he had three sons. Later, in 1969, he married Annelise Rother. He was captain of the last wooden tugboat to work the San Francisco Bay, and he was one of the last skippers to be licensed to pilot the great steam tugs such as the "Hercules." A Sausalito resident for four decades, Harold was well known for his classic yacht restorations, including the vessels the "Freda", the "Restless", the tugboat "Alert", and most famously, the 83 foot 1883 German pilot schooner the "Wanderbird." In the 1990's the "Wanderbird" was deemed by the Smithsonian Museum to be the most significant vessel restoration done by a private individual in the US. The "Wanderbird" is currently a floating museum in Hamburg, Germany. Harold is survived by his wife of 41 years Anneliese Sommer, and his sons Ross and his wife, Sue, of San Anselmo, CA; Roy and his wife, Melissa, of Shrewsbury, MA; and Webb and his wife, Mary, of Olalla, WA. Harold is also survived by six grandsons; Calvin, Andrew, Marley, Castan, Justin and Tyler, and one granddaughter; Kira. The family is requesting that memorial donations be made in memory of Harold to the Restoring Freda Project at the Spaulding Wooden Boat Center, Foot of Gate Five Road, 3 Road 3 Ste 7, Sausalito, CA 94965-9800 or http://store.spauldingcenter.org/donations.php or contact Andrea Rey. Services will be held Wednesday December 29, 2010 at 11:00 am at the Sausalito Women's Center.