Electric Marine Leadership Summit and Lake Berryessa Electric Boat Festival Demonstrate Growing Momentum for Electric Boating

The emerging electric marine industry took a major step forward as more than 80 industry leaders gathered for the 2026 Electric Marine Leadership Summit on June 5, followed by hundreds of attendees experiencing the future of boating at the Lake Berryessa Electric Boat Festival on June 6 at Pleasure Cove Marina.

Produced by Sea Watts, hosted by Pleasure Cove Marina and title sponsor Vision Marine Technologies, the two-day event brought together vessel manufacturers, marina operators, utilities, policymakers, workforce development organizations, automation technology providers, charging infrastructure providers, investors, and boating enthusiasts to explore the rapidly evolving future of recreational and marine electrification. 

“The Electric Marine Leadership Summit and Lake Berryessa Electric Boat Festival demonstrated that marine electrification is no longer a future concept—it is happening today. By bringing together industry leaders, policymakers, marina operators, vessel manufacturers, and the public, we created a platform that is helping shape the future of electric boating in America. The conversations, partnerships, and firsthand experiences generated during these two days will help accelerate adoption and innovation across the marine industry for years to come,” stated Ollie Danner, Founder and CEO of Sea Watts.

Electric Boats Take Center Stage

Summit and Festival attendees experienced electric boating firsthand through more than 125 electric boat demonstration rides, with an average of five passengers per trip, resulting in over 625 individual on-water experiences throughout the two days. 

Featured vessels included:

• Arc Sport

• Duffy 23 Sun Cruiser

• Flux Dorado

• Super Air Nautique GS22E

• Torqeedo TorqLink 6.0 Tiller-powered Zodiac 12-foot RIB

• Vita Power Sea Dog

• Vision Marine Fantail

• Vision Marine Spectre

• Vision Marine Sterk

• Zin Boats Z7

The demonstrations showcased the growing diversity of electric marine technology, from luxury recreational vessels and watersports boats to commercial and utility applications.

Industry Leaders Gather to Shape the Future

The Electric Marine Leadership Summit convened more than 80 leaders from government, industry, utilities, marinas, ports, technology companies, and workforce development organizations to discuss policy, charging infrastructure, marina electrification, vessel technology, workforce development, and commercialization opportunities for the growing electric marine sector.

The Summit and Festival were made possible through the support of sponsors and partners including Cal EPIC, CALSTART/CORE, Capstone Green Energy, Electrified Marina, MasTec, Motive Energy, and OptiGrid.

Additional supporting organizations included the Aqua superPower, Bay Area Air District, Boson Motors, Breath California - Sacramento Region, Charged Marine, the California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), Elevated Boat Club, ePropulsion, Even Recharge, EVOA, the International Electric Marine Association, Mack Boring, NorCal Clean Cities Coalition, the Port of San Francisco, Project Clean Air / San Joaquin Valley Clean Cities Coalition, RAD Propulsion, the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District, the Sacramento Metro Chamber, the San Joaquin and NorCal Tesla Owners Clubs, Solano County Water Agency, Sunday Boats, The Liquid Grid, Tesla of Sunnyvale, UC Davis, Voltaic Marine, ZeroJet and ZEMA.

Building the Foundation for the Next Generation of Boating

Pleasure Cove Marina General Manager Amber Garcia reflected on the event's impact:

"Incredibly grateful to everyone who participated in the Lake Berryessa Electric Boat Festival. It was a huge success and hopefully the first of many across the country."

Garcia noted that the event challenged perceptions about electric boating performance and brought together an unprecedented group of industry stakeholders.

"Without the entire Sea Watt’s team, this event would not have happened. More than 80 industry leaders in vessel electrification met at the summit, made new connections, and began solving seemingly insurmountable problems together."

A Vision for the Future

The success of the summit and festival demonstrates increasing interest in electric boating, marina electrification, and sustainable recreation. As vessel technology continues to advance and charging infrastructure expands, California remains positioned to lead the development of a new marine transportation ecosystem.

The organizers plan to continue building on the momentum created at Lake Berryessa through future events, industry collaborations, workforce development initiatives, and infrastructure deployment projects.

About the Organizers

Sea Watts is accelerating the adoption of electric boating by connecting boaters, marinas, manufacturers, and service providers through industry events, digital tools, charging infrastructure resources, boat rentals, tours, and consumer education. The company is building the leading platform for discovering, experiencing, and supporting the growing electric marine ecosystem. 

Charged Marine provides consulting, strategy, infrastructure planning, incentive support, and market development services for marine electrification projects throughout North America.

ZEMA (Zero Emission Marine Accelerator) works to accelerate the commercialization and adoption of zero-emission marine technologies through industry collaboration, workforce development, and innovation partnerships.