places to anchor Oregon coast

[fgraham]

Know of any good spots to anchor between marinas? I'm 4.5 feet down, can't get in Depoe bay. Between the Colombia river and Salmon Harbor at Reedsport.
Thanks Frank

[Lepke]

The short answer is they're aren't any good ones. As long as the bars are open, any of the rivers with jetties. There are rivers I entered when commercial fishing that aren't charted, but take local knowledge.

In average ocean conditions, the bars can be crossed by a yacht. I cross the Columbia bar often. It's not as dangerous as made out to be. But when I cruise the Oregon coast, I plan on not stopping between the Columbia and Crescent City.

[Don C L]

Not sure but there may be something of help in the threads I posted at the Pacific Coast Sailors social group:
Cruisers & Sailing Forums - Threads that are helpful to trip planning

[model 10]

Port Orford

[Dooglas]

Between Reedsport and the mouth of the Columbia, there are only three harbors with jetties and maintained channels - Florence/Siuslaw, Newport/Yaquina, and Garibaldi/Tillamook. Any of the others including Wheeler/Nehalem require local knowledge, good weather, and don't have reliable depths. Of the 3, Newport/Yaquina is definitely the best. What is your objective? You are looking to anchor in the bay for a period of time? Is access to services important?

comment - I don't believe you could anchor in Depoe Bay in any case. Entering the small, artificial harbor requires local knowledge and there is really no space to anchor within the harbor. Depoe Creek is not navigable.

[toddster8]

I have seen sailboats anchored in the lee of Cape Lookout, during perfect conditions. And "Smugglers Cove" near Oswald West State Park. But have not tried either myself. Local knowledge sort of deal, I think.

Still, when I see or hear about something like that, I stick a note between the appropriate pages of my "Charlie's Charts" book.

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by toddster8

I have seen sailboats anchored in the lee of Cape Lookout, during perfect conditions. And "Smugglers Cove" near Oswald West State Park. But have not tried either myself. Local knowledge sort of deal, I think.

Still, when I see or hear about something like that, I stick a note between the appropriate pages of my "Charlie's Charts" book.

I did Cape Lookout one night. Horrible in a light southerly shoulda gone to the N side.


There really aren't any, except for Port Orford in settled weather.

[Dooglas]

Further North, some use the lee side of Destruction Island for overnight anchoring. That sort of thing presupposes that one area reliably remains the lee side for an adequate period of time.

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by Dooglas

Further North, some use the lee side of Destruction Island for overnight anchoring. That sort of thing presupposes that one area reliably remains the lee side for an adequate period of time.

When I was in Lapush in 2016, there was a guy on a Columbia 29 who got nailed at Destruction Island earlier that summer. Summer.

[Dooglas]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

When I was in Lapush in 2016, there was a guy on a Columbia 29 who got nailed at Destruction Island earlier that summer. Summer.

Just going into La Push can be exciting enough.