Sausalito/San Francisco Anchorages/Moorage

[mikehar]

I'm going to be pulling into the San Francisco area for a couple of days to avoid some weather. I'll be there early tomorrow morning. We've been striking out on finding moorage (if you have any leads, I would appreciate it). Otherwise, I was thinking about anchoring in Richardson bay by Sausalito. I haven't been there before. Is it a decent place? Winds look to be 10ktsish or less from the west for the time that I'm there.

 

[mvweebles]

Clipper Cove at treasure Island is a beautiful anchorage. Not sure about getting ashore. There is an Almar marina there that has a checkered history in allowing dinghy landing. My info is 3-years old and some upgrades were planned so definitely confirm. There used to be a municipal bus onto SF, though a Job Corps center on Treasure Island sometimes made the ride a bit gritty. Wouldn't do it late at night

Last I heard the city made a new effort to clean out derelicts in Ruchardson Bay. Maybe someone has better info.

Angel Island has a nice mooring field, though plan for slack water as the current swirls there.

Good luck

Peter

 

[Hydraulicjump]

Richardson Bay is a common anchorage historically full of derelict live aboards, but they have been cleaning it up. You can get really stiff and surprisingly cold breezes in there, but the holding is usually good. Although look out for junk on the bottom. Frankly the homeless boats are a major turn off for most, but you can dingy to shore from there.
Two other nearby spots to consider. If the wind is from the typical westerly directions, you can anchor in Belvedere Cove right around the corner. Easy dingy to shore in upscale Tiburon.
Also, a lot of sailboats headed out of the Gate will overnight in Horseshoe Cove, but there is no there, there and it is pretty surgy.
Same lack of there there with Clipper Cove on Treasure Island. Besides a really shallow entry, there is no easy way into the city (although an Uber will retrieve you from there).
Did you check Pier 39 and San Francisco Marina? Both have end ties that would fit.
Good luck! The weather this time of year is usually gorgeous in the Bay Area. Stay awhile!

 

[Retriever]

I'm going to be pulling into the San Francisco area for a couple of days to avoid some weather. I'll be there early tomorrow morning. We've been striking out on finding moorage (if you have any leads, I would appreciate it). Otherwise, I was thinking about anchoring in Richardson bay by Sausalito. I haven't been there before. Is it a decent place? Winds look to be 10ktsish or less from the west for the time that I'm there.

Have you tried Marina Bay Yacht Harbor in Richmond? We stayed there for a month last fall on the way south and they had lots of room. Perhaps not the most desirable Bay Area neighborhood, but we found it gentrifying and much better than some old timers made it sound….we had no safety concerns and good Mexican food nearby. Sorry, we never anchored out, so no help there.

 

[DDW]

Richardson Bay is one of the few general anchorages (and as had been said, lots of derelicts and homeless). You can dinghy to Sausalito, but it is getting hard to find a place to land the dinghy because of the homeless problem. Marina Bay in Richmond always seems to have room. Hospital Cove on Angel Island is limited to 40' boats in the mooring field. A little further in you can anchor at China Camp though there's no infrastructure around it. McCovey Cove by the ballpark is a possibility, not sure if they allow overnight there?

 

[mvweebles]

Horseshoe Cove at the north end of GG Bridge is not really tenable. It's a small anchorage and can have some swells. It is however beautiful. There used go be a mooring to pickup. Was an old anchor of some sort of navy utility boat that must have weighed 400 lbs (me and a couple friends from treasure Island put it down in the late 1990s). The USCG lifeboat station is on the west end of the cove.

If you try Clipper Cove on Treasure Island, and if you can get ashore, there are a few small restaurants and a small grocery on the island. It is the best view of San Francisco anywhere. Entrance into the Cove is shoal - enter extreme north side, as close to the pier as you can. Once past the shoal you will anchor in about 12-feet of water.

I doubt McCovey Cove is workable as an overnight anchorage. Marine police would probably roust you, but that's only a guess.

You may also want to try EmeryCove marine. Very cruiser friendly. Close to some decent restaurants and there's a free shuttle that takes you to shopping.

Finally Oakland/Alameda estuary has a bunch of marinas. There is also a ferry into SF.

Good luck. Sorry to advise on areas outside of Sausalito, your original question. Wanted to offer options.

Peter

 

[mikehar]

Thanks

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. We ended up going to the San Francisco Marina in the Marina District. It was $4/ft.

It was nice to be at the dock to explore the city for two days. However, the marina staff doesn't know much about the marina. They put us in a slip that had about 10 inches of free space beyond our beam, and with fenders, it was about -1 inch. When the marina employee stopped by MUCH later to drop off a key, I asked him about the slip width. He had *no* idea. The slips have a dock on one side and pilings on the other.

Also, the dock was completely covered in bird crap. We had to wash our lines and part of the dock during our stay.

I would consider going back *if* on a clean end-tie, otherwise no.

Sausalito was our first choice, but everything was full, and the crew preferred to dock.

-mike