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Old 09-06-2021, 13:13   #16
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Re: Pillar Point Harbor Half Moon Bay

Emeryville Marina, just south of Berkeley Marina on the East Bay side, usually has catamaran slips available.
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Old 09-06-2021, 17:08   #17
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Re: Pillar Point Harbor Half Moon Bay

Pillar Point is not popular for permanent berthing for sailors because the weather is just horrible and the ocean is rough with noplace close to go. But there is a really friendly yacht club. Been there on races and have memories of tasty barbequed salmon at rhe post race party and some of rhe most interesting characters are members of that club.
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Old 09-06-2021, 18:33   #18
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Re: Pillar Point Harbor Half Moon Bay

The half dozen times we've stopped a PPH out of Monterey to/from SF have been excellent - generally a berth available, but a great anchorage and certainly the best harbor of refuge between SF and Santa Barbara IMO. Never noticed a surge there, but you'll live with a bad one in either of Monterey's two marinas with their wide open entrance. On our SF trips we stop there for the night - about 60nm - and time our departure for the ~30nm to GG Bridge to enter at slack water.

Always a big surge in Santa Cruz Hbr., particularly at the fuel dock, and also the added attraction of a shoaling, sometimes breaking bar. Huge sailing head-boat cats are berthed there as well as more ordinary 40 ft'ers, and in the many times we've gone there, never a problem. But don't try it in a winter southerly gale!
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Old 09-06-2021, 18:51   #19
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Re: Pillar Point Harbor Half Moon Bay

I have sailed from San Francisco Bay to Pillar Point Harbor for about 30 years. The harbor is commonly referred to as Half Moon Bay -- (there is an actual town of Half Moon Bay about 2 miles south of the Harbor). Both are very quaint, and have lots of restaurants. Both are Bay Area tourist attractions and Pillar Point is a working commercial harbor -- interesting mix. The harbor has a nice fuel dock, easy for cruising sailboats and commercial vessels as well.
Seems a lot of the responders are "imagining" or "supposing" what conditions might be. From experience, there are two breakwaters, an outside one and an inside one. Check out the photo. Once inside the first BW the water has no fetch to build waves (nor swell) but it can blow all night long. Holding is good, solid mud. Easy to anchor, or there are mooring balls run by the County of San Mateo. They also mange the slips at the Harbor. No reservations for transients, call when you're close to the harbor. I don't think they have slips for cats, unless an end tie when a commercial boat is away. Probably better anyway for a cat to anchor or take a ball, and dinghy in. The commercial dock has a place that welcomes dinghies at no charge. Lastly, Half Moon Bay Yacht Club is a great place to hang out. Cheap drinks and food when they're open, and a very interesting "barge" from the dinghy dock to the shore -- don't miss it!
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Old 09-06-2021, 23:39   #20
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Re: Pillar Point Harbor Half Moon Bay

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Originally Posted by Captain Bligh View Post
PPH likely has a pretty sever swell surge at certain times. I don't know for sure, but Santa Cruz down the coast has a bad surge at times.
Santa Cruz can have rolling swells coming in but that rarely happens at PPH because of the way the entrance is situated (i.e., the outer breakwater opens toward the south). That's not to say the surge can't be felt especially when Mavericks is ripping. Once you're inside the inner harbor where the marina is, the surge can barely be felt at all. The best weather window IMO is between late August through November, or before winter storms set in.
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Old 10-06-2021, 08:57   #21
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Re: Pillar Point Harbor Half Moon Bay

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I was going to second that the anchorage is good. I added a photo here, I BELIEVE that the moorings on the upper part of the photo are for fishing boats only, but there is still plenty of well-protected room as you can see. It's been a while since I've been there. I grew up just over the hill from there, visited frequently. Cool and damp? Well yes. Big bad Pacific Ocean? huh? some of us like it just the way it is... as long as you're going downwind.
I've been stashing threads that may be of interest to you in the "Pacific Coast Sailors" group: https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...t+sailors.htmlI hope Barbara's Fishtrap restaurant is still there!
Love Barbara's Fish Trap, best clam chowder in the U.S. (IMHO)

Great thing about Pillar Point Harbor is that it is a harbor of refuge and in a storm they have to find a spot for you and can't turn you away.

The harbor staff is great and very helpful/responsive and quick to respond to any emergency in the harbor area. Made us feel very welcome and safe when we wintered there in the anchorage.

They do have some mooring bouys, thankfully not many that clog up the anchorage. If I recall correctly there are @5 just outside the inner harbor entrance that belong to the district and can be rented by the month or day for transients. There are a few privately owned that are mostly on the west side in front of the yacht club. While we were there a few boats on those bouys chafed through their lines during storms and ended up on the beach mostly unharmed, and were back on their mooring bouys shortly afterwards. (we saw other boats on anchor drag onto rocks during storms as well, all were unoccupied).

Being a largely commercial harbor the fishing boats home ported there have a slip, and visiting fishing boats, like recreational boats, either anchor, get a guest slip, or can use a vacant bouy.

The dinghy dock is great, but you have to go under the pier to tie up on the east side of it as the west side is for fishing boats selling their catch. It's fine, can be a bit crowded, you have to duck your head at high tide.
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Old 10-06-2021, 09:18   #22
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Re: Pillar Point Harbor Half Moon Bay

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Regarding Santa Cruz, I can't imagine coming in on a 40' cat in anything less than perfect conditions. Any swell has the surfers lining up in the harbor entrance...
Santa Cruz is not that bad. I came in last night and noted 24 feet of water in the dredged entrance. Coming in isn't bad, because you can see the swells coming and wait for a lull.

In the winter months it deserves its reputation as a dangerous barred harbor.
I have been hit by large breakers going out. One year in early March we sailed back from Moss Landing to be greeted by constant breakers across the entrance. We waited 3 hours till high tide then surfed through on a lull. There had to be 200 people lining the jetties watching for our demise.
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Old 10-06-2021, 11:43   #23
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Re: Pillar Point Harbor Half Moon Bay

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Santa Cruz is not that bad. I came in last night and noted 24 feet of water in the dredged entrance. Coming in isn't bad, because you can see the swells coming and wait for a lull.

In the winter months it deserves its reputation as a dangerous barred harbor.
It IS bad when the entrance channel is FILLED with SUPs, dinghy sailors roaring back-and-forth in the narrow channel, and of course, larger sail/power boats coming in/out.

Common sense and rules of the road missing.

That was our experience in Fall 2013. A real gong show, accidents waiting to happen.

Our worst experience in California and Mexico.
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Old 10-06-2021, 13:02   #24
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Re: Pillar Point Harbor Half Moon Bay

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Originally Posted by gamayun View Post
Santa Cruz can have rolling swells coming in but that rarely happens at PPH because of the way the entrance is situated (i.e., the outer breakwater opens toward the south). That's not to say the surge can't be felt especially when Mavericks is ripping. Once you're inside the inner harbor where the marina is, the surge can barely be felt at all. The best weather window IMO is between late August through November, or before winter storms set in.
Thanks for clarifying.
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Old 10-06-2021, 13:06   #25
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Re: Pillar Point Harbor Half Moon Bay

I like Pillar Point in general, but be aware that they may not let you use the mooring balls for a cat. When we were there last June, the harbor master would not allow us to moor our 44' cat on their balls, and insisted that we anchor instead.
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Old 11-06-2021, 06:56   #26
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Re: Pillar Point Harbor Half Moon Bay

Thank you, thank you, thank you all.
Got to learn so much from your comments, about Pillar Point and the area in general. boy, you are all experienced ��
Will also look into pacific coast sailors group.
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Old 11-06-2021, 09:15   #27
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Re: Pillar Point Harbor Half Moon Bay

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It IS bad when the entrance channel is FILLED with SUPs, dinghy sailors roaring back-and-forth in the narrow channel, and of course, larger sail/power boats coming in/out.

Common sense and rules of the road missing.

That was our experience in Fall 2013. A real gong show, accidents waiting to happen.

Our worst experience in California and Mexico.

Not our experience at all in the many ins & outs and overnight stays we've made over the past 10 years - 26' power cat, Cat. 30 sail, and current vessel - prob our last. Sure, it can be a bit congested, but have never heard of a serious collision there.

Santa Cruz is the only day destination worth visiting from the Monterey city marinas IMO - about 25 mi across the Bay. The next marina S is Morro Bay - ~150nm's, and only one safe summertime anchorage before that at San Simeon/Hearst Castle @ 85nm, which is a death trap in winter southerly gales.
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Old 11-06-2021, 12:44   #28
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Re: Pillar Point Harbor Half Moon Bay

Pretty hard to get into any harbor during winter storms, including Morro Bay. Especially Morro Bay.
Winter and early spring is a good time to hang out in the bar and brag about how you would be out there if you really wanted to.
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Old 11-06-2021, 17:33   #29
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Re: Pillar Point Harbor Half Moon Bay

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Pretty hard to get into any harbor during winter storms, including Morro Bay. Especially Morro Bay.
Winter and early spring is a good time to hang out in the bar and brag about how you would be out there if you really wanted to.

Yep, I recall the dockmaster's office photo of John Wayne's ~100' converted WWII wooden minesweeper at about a 45 deg. angle of pitch on a huge roller at the bar when he ordered his skipper to depart against all advice. He lived to tempt the Fates another day...
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Old 11-06-2021, 17:41   #30
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Re: Pillar Point Harbor Half Moon Bay

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Yep, I recall the dockmaster's office photo of John Wayne's ~100' converted WWII wooden minesweeper at about a 45 deg. angle of pitch on a huge roller at the bar when he ordered his skipper to depart against all advice. He lived to tempt the Fates another day...
Oh yeah, I remember hearing about that many moons ago. Really, Even Santa Barbara, Ventura and Channel Islands can all get closed in a rough southerly storm. I haven't seen those south of Channel Islands in a storm but I understand they are usually a little better.
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