San Francisco Delta Anchorages?

[dirtdoc1]

I took possession of my first trawler in Bellingham WA in 2017. I was planning on taking the boat directly home to Redwood City, CA. Many people suggested spending some time exploring Puget Sound, which I did in addition to the Gulf Islands and up to Desolation Sound until Canada closed the border in 2020. I was hoping to explore more of Desolation Sound but reluctantly headed down the coast toward San Francisco. I took a detour at the Columbia River and went up to Portland where my daughters live. I stayed there for about a year waiting for the border to open. When the Delta variant hit I decided to continue down the coast. So here I am in Redwood City searching youtube and Google Earth looking for good anchorages in the Bay and Delta. If anyone has a favorite anchorage in the area I'd be grateful if you would share it or them with me.

Thanks Very Much!

 

[jimdavi]

Clipper cove is great. Calmest in the bay.

 

[markpierce]

What do you want with an anchorage? But if you good dining, there are a multitude of possible destinations, like San Francisco, Oakland/Alameda, Sausalito, Petaluma, and assorted restaurants in the inner Delta which all have visitor docks.

 

[markpierce]

Clipper cove is great. Calmest in the bay.

Not much there for good food and entertainment or groceries, unless you take public transportation off the island.

What is your goal?

 

[mvweebles]

A few SF Bay boating destinations we enjoyed when we lived there 15-years ago (my info is now quite old so be sure to check):

• Jack London Square - Sunday Morning Farmer's Market or dinner at Scott's
• Pier 40 San Francisco - probably not viable anymore. Used to have free tie-up for a couple hours
• Angel Island - great day-trip with guests. Avoid times where current is running as docking can be difficult (but makes for great entertainment). Also decent moorage and anchoring in several spots
• China Camp (Marin Co). Nice anchorage. Water is shallow so will be well-off beach. Some ferry wakes
• Clipper Cove (Treasure Island). Widely considered the nicest anchorage in SF Bay. It is difficult to go ashore from there - the Almar marina there is not overly friendly unless you get a guest slip.
• Benicia - guest slip. Good town for a long weekend, especially 4th of July or similar. Often a nice town-feel. Plan for favorable currents in the Carquinez Straights.
• Petaluma - not sure status these days. Used to be able to tie-up at the turning basin right in town just past the draw bridge. Very convenient. Yacht Club right there too.
• Delta - Many of the towns have docks to tie-up to. Locke is a perennial favorite. One year we went up to Sacramento which was great as the docks are near city center. Mostly, the Delta is about gunkholing - just finding places to anchor. Some places are better than others. A decent dinghy is very helpful. Long out of print, the Hal Schell "California Delta Guide" is invaluable if you can find a copy. Lot of history in the Delta.

Here are some good articles on destinations

https://www.latitude38.com/boat-in-dining/
Delta Dining

Good luck!

Peter

 

[Alaskaflyer]

I'll add the Martinez marina, downtown is very walkable from a guest slip there, and though not as "happening" as old Benicia, it's a nice place to have breakfast and a look around. Not any good anchorages super close unfortunately.

There's a Navy mothball fleet anchored just upstream from the I-680 / Benicia-Martinez Bridge that's interesting.

Gunkholing on the lower San Joaquin and side channels is quite the experience, and I didn't get nearly enough time to experience it in my short time living in Contra Costa. Once I am removed from the boatless list, I would like to spend a season there again, full-timing it (if we have the draft for it.) From shore side I enjoyed many languid Friday evenings at Union Point Marina Bar and Grill at Trapper Slough. There is a thread somewhere here where one of our members spent weeks full timing on his trawler in the Delta, I'll try to find it.

 

[Alaskaflyer]

This is the thread I was thinking about, I'm sure there are many others - probably also with Flywright!

https://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s28/my-quarantine-cruise-2020-a-49739.html

 

[Two Truths]

Some quick additions to what has been said above:
Petaluma Turning Basin was dredged this past year, and is now perfectly accessible.
Martinez Marina, on the other hand, hasn't been dredged in years (unless it was dredged in the past few months) and even shallow-draft boats will have trouble getting in and out at low tide.
Owl Harbor Marina is right in the middle of the Delta, and is the favorite of many Bay Area boaters (especially sailors). Very friendly staff and good facilities (but not close to dining if that is your thing).
Mildred Island is a pleasant anchorage with good holding, if you are just looking for a place to swim and enjoy the solitude.

Georgiana Slough is a nice way to get from the San Joachin up to the Sacramento River--it drops you off in Walnut Grove next to Locke. And Steamboat Slough is a good route back to Suisun and civilization.

 

[Two Truths]

One last thing: The Suisun Bay Mothball Fleet (or "ghost fleet") has gone from over 300 ships at its peak, to a little over 50 ships 10 years ago, to just a handful of ships left today. There has been a serious push to get rid of them for environmental reasons.

 

[FlyWright]

Here's a link to a thread here on TF about Delta destinations...

https://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s28/ca-bay-delta-cruising-guide-6139.html

...and here's a link to the TF SF Bay/CA Delta Social Group...

https://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/groups/1-san+francisco+bay++california+delta+cruisers.html

PM me for my cellphone number if you prefer to speak via phone.