Leaning In While Anchored in Richardson Bay

Over the years, we’ve written a lot about the Sausalito waterfront and Richardson Bay. It’s generally protected, scenic, and a beautiful piece of San Francisco’s mostly navigable waterways. But you can forget how shallow it is right outside the channel. With all those boats anchored to the east of the channel, it can be tempting to set a course from the tip of Belvedere to the north of the first channel marker if you’re heading up to KKMI or the fuel dock at Clipper Yacht Harbor.

We were out sailing with Randy Gridley aboard his Sabre 38 Agea and heading back to Clipper Yacht Harbor during Saturday afternoon’s low tide and were reminded that it’s wise to stay in the channel. Agea draws 6′ 6″ so Randy is dedicated to mid-channel, even on high-tide days. Here are a few photos to remind you to do the same.

The 132-ft LOA Matthew Turner from Call of the Sea draws 10 feet and has been regularly sailing from her berth at the Army Corps docks, and Schoonmaker Point Marina regularly hosts some 100-plus-ft yachts on her side-tie berths, and so remains a great place to visit.

If you’re willing to ‘lean in’, an anchorage to the east and southeast can be a comfortable place to spend the night without needing a lot of scope. If you want to stay upright, stay to the south.