Allison Lehman
Broker, San Francisco Bay Area
Sailing was always something I wanted to do as I grew up on San Francisco Bay. My family and I were avid horse riders and skiers and that kept us very busy. Many high school friends sailed on San Francisco Bay and I yearned to try it. After college, I was working in the wine Industry and was invited out to do a race with one of the winery owners. I was hooked. Everything about it thrilled me. In time, I bought my first boat, a Lightning. I raced it on the Finger Lakes in upstate New York. Upon moving back to California, I started racing on San Francisco Bay again. I raced on catamarans, dinghies and bigger OPBs (Other People’s Boats). Finally, I took the leap and became the proud owner of an Islander 28, Kismet. After spending a full winter restoring it, I was sailing it all over San Francisco Bay. It wasn’t long after that purchase that the broker who sold it to me suggested that I leave the wine industry and try my hand at yacht sales with him. I took the leap and was instantly hooked on a job where I could interact with people on a daily basis about a product that I felt passionate about. Yacht sales turned out to be my perfect job.
Eventually, I co-founded Golden Gate Yacht Sales and have enjoyed selling both sailboats and powerboats in the San Francisco Bay area for over 23 years. My network with other brokers extends throughout the world and I have sold and delivered boats to clients throughout the US and internationally.
My hobbies include sailboat racing and cruising as well as cooking and gardening. I am an active member of the Richmond Yacht Club of California, where I volunteer for many events and serve on the Harbor Committee.
My husband and I are the proud owners of a Sabre 426 named Kingfisher currently in San Francisco Bay. We have cruised Kingfisher for three years from the Broughtons in BC to the Sea of Cortez and back.
My love of boating has led me to explore all over the world by boat seeing places like Turkey, New Zealand, Fiji, Tahiti, Hawaii, Mexico, England, Grenadines, New England, British Columbia and Alaska. This breadth of experience helps me understand the needs of my clients and match them to boats that are a good fit. My goal is to have buyers end up with the perfect boat and sellers end up with the perfect sale, the win-win situation. Working at Swiftsure Yachts is a very exciting opportunity for me. They understand the joys of yachting and are dedicated to finding those “perfect” days for buyers and sellers.