Anchorage

Bechers bay

Shelter: NW, W, SW, S
Seabed: sand, rock, algae
Anchoring: Allowed

Broad semicircular bay on the north-east side of Santa Rosa Island, the main point of entry to the island in Channel Islands National Park, California.

Pontoon
Beach

Guide

Approach and anchoring

The bay runs about 4.5 miles between Skunk and Carrington Points and gives the best shelter of any Santa Rosa anchorage from the strong north-west winds. The bottom is sand. A pier serves landings, with a short flight of stairs from the boat to the deck.

Practical

No fuel or water at the anchorage. The nearest harbour services lie about 29.5 miles north-east at Santa Barbara Harbour. A primitive campground sits in Water Canyon, with toilets, tap water and a windbreak at each site.

Ashore

Water Canyon Beach, a white-sand strand backed by dunes, lies just over a mile from the pier. A short walk from the campground reaches the island's Torrey pine grove, one of the rarest pines in the world. Near the pier stand the buildings and equipment of the former Vail and Vickers cattle ranch.

History

The first pier in Bechers Bay was built in June 1859. Walter Vail and J. V. Vickers began buying island land in 1901, and by 1930 the Vail and Vickers Company owned all of Santa Rosa, running it as a cattle ranch and hunting reserve. The park rebuilt the pier on the original footprint in 2012.