Author: Sydney Thomas

We are happy to announce that Ocean SF has once again been chosen as the Sustainable Partner for the 62nd edition of the Rolex Big Boat Series, hosted by the prestigious St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco, California.

As our brand is dedicated to ocean conservation, continuing this partnership is a deeply meaningful honor for our team.

About the 2026 Rolex Big Boat Series

Scheduled for September 16–20, 2026, this iconic regatta brings world-class sailors and competitive racing to the challenging waters of San Francisco Bay, set against the backdrop of the Golden Gate Bridge.

In addition to four days of high-stakes competition across select classes, this year’s event carries extra prestige as it serves as the 2026 ORC (Offshore Racing Congress) North American Championship.

Eligible Classes & Competitors

• One Design Boats: Classes include the J/88, J/105, and Express 37. (Other classes with minimum entry requirements may apply to the Organizing Authority).
• ORC Monohulls: Boats with an LOA ≥ 30 feet holding a valid ORC International certificate.
• Classic Boats: Traditional wooden plank-on-frame construction with an LOA ≥ 40 feet and a valid ORRez rating certificate (cold-molded construction boats are excluded).

Championing Sustainability On and Off the Water

At Ocean SF, we believe that world-class performance and environmental stewardship must go hand in hand. As the Sustainable Partner for the 2026 regatta, our goal is to support St. Francis Yacht Club in minimizing environmental impact and actively engaging our coastal community.

Ocean SF Sustainability Initiatives & On-Site Events

• Beach Cleanup Event: We are hosting a local beach cleanup during the regatta week to keep our shorelines trash-free and protect local marine wildlife.
• Educational Sessions in Regatta Plaza: Join us in the Regatta Plaza at St. Francis Yacht Club for interactive educational sessions focused on ocean conservation, sustainable marine habits, and eco-friendly sailing practices.

Join Us on the Bay

Whether you’re competing on the water, joining our beach cleanup, or attending our sessions at the Regatta Plaza, we invite you to be part of this incredible celebration of sailing excellence and ocean protection.

I wrote this in August 2020. I am happy to say that I am still running Ocean SF, and this will be our best year ever. We have an incredible team with new products in the works. Stay tuned for more on our journey.

When I closed my first angel investment of $50,000, I did it sitting on the bathroom floor of an industrial kitchen in Oakland. I was wearing a rubber apron and peeled off my rubber gloves to answer my 11:00 a.m. call. The floor was cold, but it was quiet and private. I was able to sell my vision in 25 minutes in what was possibly the worst set of circumstances.

I put that money in the bank and worked the next fourteen days straight washing dishes, serving at wedding receptions, and bottling Gold Bar Whiskey on Treasure Island. The fact that I did this is something I am really proud of. My husband had died unexpectedly a year and a half before. As someone who had expected to live forever, his affairs were not exactly in order. I take full responsibility for this, as I expected him to live forever as well. His dying in the middle of raising our children provided more challenges than I could have ever imagined.

That was four years ago. Long enough to earn a college degree. This is what I thought to myself in July as I marked the anniversary of my husband’s death. I was standing on the tee box where he made his first hole in one the year before he died. It was early evening, and the air was warm and still. The fifth fairway lay before me, emerald green with the sky above turning just the slightest shade of pink. Instead of earning a degree, I got an education in courage, determination, and the power of love and hard work.

Ocean SF was beginning to take shape in my mind. I had just made my first mid-layer jacket prototypes with the help of a Gucci pattern maker in Los Angeles. I was working with a technical fabric that would keep the cold air out and the warmth in. The fabric was 100% Merino Wool and had the added benefit of keeping you warm even if it got wet. The prototypes turned out better than anyone expected.

After my husband died making the decision to continue to pursue my dream was a difficult one. I had to consider the security of my daughters and ensure they had financial support. Raising two teenagers and starting a business was not the easiest route to take. But I was passionate and had good advisors. Very good advisors.

As an environmentalist, avid skier and sailor, with a love of clothes, Ocean SF provided a vehicle for my talent in marketing, my obsession with clean water, and my distain of polyester. I knew there was nothing else in the world that would marry my passions more than designing sustainable outdoor wear. I was willing to do anything to make it happen. If I had to work three jobs, I would. If I had to work seven days a week, I would.

What does it take to build a brand? Everything you’ve got.

During the most difficult times, I would open my father’s desk and pull out his medals. It reminded me that I am the daughter of a man who fought in three wars and earned a Bronze Star for bravery and a Purple Heart. I was certainly not going to be a quitter. I called on my courage and persevered.

Now, I own a C Corp and am producing in a pandemic. Does it scare me? Not really. When the worst thing you could ever imagine happens, there’s not much to be afraid of. As I write this, there are wildfires sweeping through California. Outside my window, the sky is white and full of smoke. The sun shines through my window, a dark golden color. This alone makes me even more committed to seeing my environmental vision of sustainable and ethical outdoor wear come to fruition.

Wear your values, people.

For decades, massive corporate networks have maintained a silent consensus, flooding the market with cheap, oil-based synthetics—polyester, nylon, and fleece—while quietly burying the reality of the millions of microplastics shedding into the very waters we drink, swim, and navigate. They have conditioned the world to accept synthetic compromise as the standard for high-performance.

We reject the permission of a compromised market.

Elite Utility. Zero Petroleum.

Ocean SF was born on the cold, raw waters of the San Francisco Bay, created out of a refusal to wear plastic against the elements. We did not build this brand to offer a polite, mass-market alternative. We built it to establish an uncompromising counter-narrative.

We replace petroleum-dependent outerwear with premium, 100% natural technical wool.

The Material: Nature’s ultimate high-performance fiber. Renewable, biodegradable, and structurally superior. It breathes, regulates temperature, and protects against the harshest marine elements while providing a renewable alternative to petroleum-based synthetics.

The Design: A disciplined, minimalist aesthetic that honors historical coastal heritage while delivering world-class, elite utility. No corporate buzzwords, no fast-fashion trends, and no synthetic fillers.

Stand Against the Petroleum Products

Ocean SF is crafted for the individuals who navigate life by their own internal compass—the sailors, the leaders, and the thinkers who refuse to blindside their values for convenience.

When you wear Ocean SF, you are not just choosing a premium garment. You are executing a profound shift away from an automated, synthetic system. You are stepping out of the loop, claiming your personal authority, and choosing gear engineered to stand the test of time.

This is technical apparel for the independent mind. Wear your values.

Ocean SF is proud to be in our sixth year of the Leadership Development Internship program, welcoming five interns this summer, with four returning and one new.

Running a clothing brand may appear glamorous, but the reality is quite different. It requires creativity, discipline, and a commitment to tackling the unglamorous tasks such as inventory management, sourcing, pop-ups, and more.

What I appreciate most about this program is the opportunity to transform these students into true leaders, helping them develop the skills necessary for effective leadership. Leadership is not an innate trait; it is cultivated over time.

This year, our lead intern returns for her fourth year, stepping up as our Project Manager. With this experienced group, I can now focus on setting the vision while they take charge of execution.

Follow us on Instagram as we introduce new products this summer.

This June, five standout individuals are stepping into the Ocean SF ecosystem again, with four returning and one addition. We kept our team intentionally small this year to help us focus with interns who have been with us for several years. They know they aren’t here to shadow or fetch coffee. They are here to lead and move the needle.

Over the next few months, our summer intern cohort will use the Ocean SF brand as a real-world testing ground. This program is designed around three core pillars that dictate success in the modern world: uncompromising entrepreneurship, true leadership, and our absolute commitment to sustainability.

The Mission: Leading with Impact

Ocean SF was born in iconic San Francisco, a city defined by its fierce microclimates, cold waters, and pioneering spirit. The rugged, unpredictable conditions of the Bay are what inspire our high-performance technical apparel and our commitment to the brand through many years of economic and social upheaval.

In this city, sustainability isn’t a marketing buzzword; it’s a necessity. By choosing to work exclusively with sustainable, high-performance natural fibers like technical wool, we choose the harder, cleaner road.

Our interns will learn that managing people and projects means taking absolute accountability for the footprint those projects leave behind. They will be tasked with:

• Navigating Clean Supply Chains: Understanding what it takes to protect product lifecycle integrity from source to consumer, ensuring our practices protect our oceans and land.
• Managing Projects: Learning how to balance business velocity with environmental responsibility.
• Embodying SF’s Entrepreneurial Spirit: Tapping into San Francisco’s rich legacy of innovation, creative problem-solving, and decisive leadership.

The Challenge Ahead

High-performance apparel requires high-performance thinkers. By embedding these seven individuals directly into our sustainable, SF-based operations, we are helping build the next generation of sovereign leaders—people who know how to cut through the noise, build profitable, ethical frameworks, and trust their execution.

True leaders leave things better than they found them. The energy is high already as we begin to map our summer; the infrastructure is ready, and the work starts now.

Stay tuned to see what this cohort will be doing this summer. New products to follow…