House Towed Across San Pablo Bay Stuns Onlookers
A two-story home moved by a recreational boat across the bay was documented by a local fisherman.
A striking sight on San Pablo Bay on Wednesday morning—a full-size, two-story house being towed across the water—caught the attention of many, including local fisherman Zach Medinas.
Medinas, 57, who operates Gatecrasher Fishing Adventures, was out with his crew when he observed the unusual procession. "I saw him coming and I had the reaction of everybody else — what the hell is that?" Medinas told the San Francisco Chronicle. Video footage of the event showed the yellow house, complete with an upper-floor porch, secured to a barge and being pulled by a motorboat.
The unusual journey began on the Napa River and concluded at Jack London Square in the Oakland-Alameda Estuary, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The house was reportedly being moved as a favor for a friend.
Medinas noted that windy conditions and rough currents were present, leading him to question the safety of the tow. "It looked incredibly dangerous and just totally bizarre," he said.
The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed the legality of the operation. Lt. John Thompson, a public affairs officer for Coast Guard Sector San Francisco, stated that a crew from Station Vallejo inspected the vessel and verified it had the necessary safety equipment. Thompson clarified that while a commercial operation would require a license, the individual towing the house was not operating commercially.
The video of the house-towing quickly gained traction on social media, accumulating nearly 140,000 views on Instagram by Friday evening, far exceeding the typical engagement for Medinas's fishing-related posts.
This is not the first instance of a house being transported by water in the Bay Area. In April 2024, a similar two-story home was moved from Redwood City to San Rafael, as reported by the San Francisco Standard.