Things To Do, Coves To Visit, and People To See on the Bay
We recently wrote about the new Treasure Island Marina to be constructed starting in spring 2026 in Clipper Cove, and some reopened guest docks on the Bay. This is in addition to news that up to 16 of the “closed” docks at Ayala Cove on Angel Island have been repaired and will be open this year, until the full dock renovation can occur in 2026.
Neil Motteram of the Columbia 43 Mi Dulcinea out of Berkeley sent the shot below of a boat out of Sausalito on a quiet morning in Clipper. Then a couple of other shots came in from Yarden of a much bigger gathering in Clipper Cove, on yet another calm, blue-sky day.
Following these posts, we received the following photos of anchoring in Clipper Cove, and a suggestion from Jim on SV Cheyenne that Suisun City has a 300-ft guest dock in the downtown basin. It’s a destination we’ve never tried. How about you?
Other nearby anchorages include Aquatic Park, Horseshoe Cove, Drake’s Bay, Half Moon Bay, Santa Cruz and Monterey. And the Delta remains a seemingly endless maze of options. Where will you go as the days get longer?
Thanks to our readers for the photos and the cruising destination suggestions.
Benicia is a favorite stop when we cruise for a few days. They have some dock space for guests and there are good restaurant options downtown, which is only a couple blocks from the marina. So is Schoonmaker Pt. Marina in Sausalito for the same reasons, though it is a longer walk downtown.
During Covid, with other travel options unavailable, we explored the rivers that feed the Bay going as far as Old Town Sacramento, Stockton, Napa and Petaluma. Of all those destinations we like Petaluma the best. Napa is nice but every time we try to get all the way to downtown we have found the bottom of the river, and we only draw 3 1/2 feet! Sacramento has a guest dock but only a short portion is on the South side of the Tower Bridge. For a sailboat, the Tower Bridge has to be opened and it’s old and not always working. There are also a number of unhoused people using the dock as a residence. We didn’t have any trouble when we left the boat to go and explore the Capitol but visitors may not always be so lucky.