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Windswept Getaway
by Phil Dauber
California’s Bodega Bay offers rugged beauty and fishing adventures
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Less than 50 miles northwest of San Francisco, Bodega Bay offers boaters a unique adventure. Amid a wonderful world of sandy beaches, hidden coves and rugged surf-swept cliffs, Bodega’s harbor provides a quiet refuge.
As the largest fishing port between San Francisco and Fort Bragg, it attracts visitors with a wealth of sportfishing and dining opportunities, in addition to its rugged scenic beauty.
Once ashore, cruisers can enjoy hiking, golfing, or horseback riding on the dunes, exploring tidepools, surfing, bird watching, antique shopping and romantic sunsets. In winter and spring, Bodega Head is one of the best places on the coast to observe migrating gray whales. Recently I stood there on a hillside of wildflowers, above crashing surf, as whales blew and spouted less than a mile offshore.
Long, narrow and less often visited by cruisers, Tomales Bay provides splendid anchorages, excellent crabbing or clamming, and a chance to sample superb local oysters in idyllic surroundings.
Once the domain of Miwok Indians, Russian traders and hardy pioneers, the Sonoma Coast has evolved into a favorite vacation destination for countless thousands of Bay Area residents. But only those who arrive by boat will see the surf breaking on isolated Tomales Point or exchange ocean swells for the tranquillity of a night at the well-equipped Spud Point Marina.
Rich in History
Bodega Bay was discovered in 1603 by the expedition of Vizcaino. In 1775, the Spanish mariner Francisco Bodega y Cuadra anchored his schooner Sonora in the Bay. Parties of Russians based in Alaska took control in the early 1800s, searching for new sources of fur and a warm-weather colony to grow food for their northern settlements.
The Russian colonies proved disappointing. After the Russians left in 1841, the Sonoma Coast was divided into ranchos, the most valuable of which, including Bodega Bay, went to a New England sea captain named Stephen Smith.
Arriving with his 16-year-old wife in 1842, Smith proved to be a successful entrepreneur. He started sawmills inland and the Port Hotel on the bay. In the following decades, Bodega Bay grew into a thriving fishing center and commercial port.
Railroads eventually ruined Bodega’s shipping business and the inner bay silted up, but dredging in 1943 revived the local fishing industry. Commercial catches have declined sharply since the heyday of the 1950s and 1960s, especially as the salmon resource has diminished. However, tourism expanded as the state park system and Sonoma County acquired most of the shoreline.
Today, Sonoma Coast State Beach stretches 10 miles north from Bodega Bay to the mouth of the Russian River. It’s actually a series of several pristine beaches separated by spectacular rocky bluffs. In winter and spring, as large swells roll in from distant storms, surf of truly awesome dimensions pounds the bluffs and half submerged offshore reefs.
These beaches are great for beachcombing, picnicking or sunbathing, but it’s never really safe to swim along this section of coast, where there are no lifeguards and danger lurks from strong undertows and huge sneaker waves.
Just south of Bodega Harbor, however, protected Doran Beach is an ideal family area, with easy access from either land or water. Since the main anchorage in Bodega is right off the beach, this would be a great spot to take the dinghy in for an afternoon of sun.
A Place for Seafood -- and More
Sportfishing can be especially productive off Bodega Bay. Commercial fishermen have plied these waters for years, and sport anglers will find the region still holds healthy numbers of albacore, chinook salmon, halibut and rockfish, depending on the time of year.
In late summer to early fall, the approach of albacore usually triggers a frenzied tuna season. Anglers come from miles around to catch these big, tasty fish.
Dungeness crab season begins in mid-November, bringing with it the sight of docks and boats piled high with heavy crab pots -- and brightly colored marker buoys festooning fences and yards. The work is rough and dangerous, as commercial crabbers must brave winter swells and storms to set and empty their traps.
Visiting boaters can set traps themselves -- selecting calmer days, of course; and using loran or GPS receivers to record the location of their traps. If the crabbing is good, a single trap (which can be purchased from stores in the harbor) should produce tasty results within a day.
Most offshore spots with sandy bottom 10 fathoms or deeper should produce crab catches, but inquire for current local information.
Salmon are considered the real “glamour fish” here. You can fish for them by trolling or mooching (drift fishing with anchovy baits) from right along the coast out to the hundred fathom curve.
Every year is different, but fishing is often excellent in spring for smaller salmon and in August for lunkers in the 20 to 40 pound class. In recent years there has been spectacular summer mooching within a few miles of the harbor. Try right off Bodega Head, Salmon Creek, Goat Rock or the mouth of the Russian River.
On my first trip to Bodega Bay a few years ago, I was amazed by the excellent rockfishing both at local reefs and at Cordell Banks. The close-in spots include reefs southeast of the harbor entrance, off Estero Americano a few miles south and off Tomales Point and nearby Bird Rock. To the north, Fort Ross and Salt Point are also excellent.
If you’d rather sample someone else’s catch, Bodega Bay is a great place to enjoy a seafood dinner with a view of the harbor. Several restaurants offer adjacent berthing facilities, but it’s wise to call in advance, to be sure there’s room.
The bay’s other diversions include numerous gift shops and art galleries, which are mostly strung out along Highway 1, within walking distance of the marina. Golfers can tee off with an ocean view at The Bodega Harbor Golf Links, an award-winning 18-hole course designed by Robert Trent Jones.
Visitors who enjoy horseback riding will want to take a scenic ride on the beaches, dunes and rolling coastal hills. Horses can be rented at Sea Horse Stables on Highway 1, about a mile north of town.
If you make it to Bodega on a Friday afternoon, you can take advantage of another local attraction -- with a fascinating guided tour of the University of California Bodega Marine Lab. Located on the windswept outer coast of Bodega Head, the UC Laboratory offers facilities for researchers in marine biology and related fields.
Bodega offers excellent sites for diving, especially around Bodega Head and Bodega Rock, and along both sides of the breakwater leading into the harbor. It’s possible to pick abalone at these spots and spearfish for lingcod, rock cod and halibut.
Entering the Harbor
Since it has no entrance bar, Bodega Harbor is one of the safest ports on the Northern California coast to approach, but there are few necessary precautions.
First of all, be sure you have NOAA Chart #18643, showing Bodega and Tomales Bays. If arriving from the south, enter Bodega Bay, passing to the east of the red and white buoy “BA,” located about two thirds of a mile southeast of Bodega Rock.
If you are cruising in from the north, do not attempt to pass between Bodega Rock and Bodega Head except in calm weather. If large swells are crashing on the rock and breakers extend part way to the Head, proceed south and go around the red and white buoy.
Sometimes, there will be offshore breakers well out in the bay. Use common sense: Go around them. If conditions are really scary, contact Coast Guard Group Bodega Bay on VHF radio, Channel 16.
When there is good visibility, entering the harbor is straightforward: Just pass between the breakwaters. In dense fog, be sure your navigation is precise.
If in doubt, or if you’d rather spend a night on the hook, you can anchor off Doran Beach in depths of 20 to 30 feet with a sand bottom. There’s fine protection from northerly or westerly weather here, but none from southerly storms.
Once inside the harbor, keep strictly inside the marked channel. The mudflats outside have caused many a grounding.
Most boaters will want to dock at Spud Point Marina. It’s a superbly equipped 244 berth facility that opened in 1985, mostly to accommodate commercial fishing vessels.
The channel is dredged to 12 feet MLLW. The marina doesn’t take reservations, but you’ll probably have no trouble getting in. Call on VHF Channel 16 and switch to 68. The marina monitors Channel 16 at all hours, and it can even provide fuel 24 hours a day.
Some groceries, hardware and chandlery items are available at McCaughey’s. It’s about a mile’s walk to other shopping areas in town.
If you have boat trouble, there’s now a full-service repair yard with a 170 ton Travelift. For problems not requiring a haulout, the Spud Point harbormaster has a list of local mechanics and repair services.
Adjacent to Spud Point is Mason’s Marina, a smaller facility that can handle boats up to 40 feet. The Shell fuel dock here is open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. , and it has a small store. Call on Channel 16 before 10 p.m.
There may also be slips available at Porto Bodega Marina, in the northwest corner of the harbor. The proprietors described it to me as strictly a fisherman’s marina, but you might be able to talk your way in. This marina’s main advantage is its close proximity to town, especially to the markets up the hill: Pelican Plaza and Diekmann’s.
A private launch ramp is available at Porto Bodego, along with plenty of parking. The daily use fee is $5. Trailerboaters can also launch at county facilities at West Side Park or Doran Park, where there’s a $3 parking fee.
Ideally, your cruise to the Bodega Bay area will center on Bodega Harbor, with the possibility of a run down Tomales Bay, depending on weather and conditions at the entrance bar.
Although the balmiest days do come in summer, mornings on the north coast are often foggy and afternoons windy. September and early October are the calmest months.
Whether you’re seeking a fishing adventure or just a refreshing getaway in beautiful surroundings, you’ll be exhilarated by Bodega Bay -- and if you’re like me, you’ll want to return again and again.
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This article first appeared in the April 1, 1997 issue of Sea Magazine. All or parts of the information contained in this article might be outdated. |
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