Best anchorages and harbours in California

Dana Point Yacht Club

Private yacht club at 24399 Dana Drive in Dana Point Harbor, with around 100 berths from 30 to 55 feet and a clubhouse open to members and reciprocal visitors.

Dana West Marina

Marina of 135 berths at 24500 Dana Point Harbor Drive, on the west side of Dana Point Harbor. Office on 714 493 6222.

Dana West Yacht Club

Membership yacht club on the west side of Dana Point Harbor, sharing the basin with Dana West Marina. Office on 949 661 1185.

Davenport Marina

Small marina at 4052 Davenport Drive in Huntington Harbour, Huntington Beach, California.

Del Rey Yacht Club

Private yacht club in Marina del Rey, Los Angeles, with around 300 berths on Palawan Way inside the main harbour basin.

Delta Bay Marina

Freshwater marina on the San Joaquin River at the centre of the Delta Loop, 922 West Brannan Island Road, Isleton.

Delta Marina Yacht Harbor

Full-service marina on the Sacramento River at Rio Vista, in the California Delta. Around 250 berths from 20 to 40 ft, covered and open.

Docktown Marina

Former floating-home community on Redwood Creek in Redwood City, being decommissioned by the city after a 2014 State Lands Commission ruling against residential use.

Driftwood Marina

Marina of 210 berths on the San Joaquin River at Oakley, west of the Antioch Bridge in the California Delta.

Driscoll Mission Bay

Full-service boatyard and marina at 1500 Quivira Way, on Quivira Basin in Mission Bay, San Diego.

Eagle Rock

Anchorage within Morro Bay harbour, central California, the only all-weather small-craft harbour between Monterey and Santa Barbara. Mud bottom.

• Sheltered N, NE, E

Elkhorn Yacht Club

Private club marina in the north harbour of Moss Landing, on Monterey Bay, with around 60 berths.

Embarcadero Cove Marina

150-berth marina on the north bank of the Oakland Estuary, just east of Jack London Square.

Embarcadero Marina

Dry storage and launch facility at 34512 Embarcadero Drive in Dana Point Harbor, with a small wet basin of 13 berths for vessels up to 40 feet.

Emerald Point Marina

Small private marina on Sand Mound Slough, south east side of Bethel Island in the California Delta.

Encinal Yacht Club

Member yacht club on the south bank of the Oakland Estuary at Marina Village, Alameda, with guest dock and a small dry storage yard.

Shelter Island Guest Dock

Public guest dock and free pump-out station maintained by the Port of San Diego at the Harbor Police Sub Station on Shelter Island Drive, San Diego Bay.

Freedom Boat Club - Huntington Beach, CA

Membership boat club operating from Peter's Landing Marina in Huntington Harbour, across from Sunset Beach.

Gashouse Cove Marina Inc

East Harbor of the San Francisco Marina, at the foot of Marina Boulevard, between Fort Mason and the Marina District.

Glen Cove Marina

Marina on the Carquinez Strait near Vallejo, California, set 0.6 miles east of the Carquinez Bridge and 4.6 miles west of the Benicia Bridge.

Glorietta Bay Marina

Public marina on Glorietta Bay in Coronado, next to the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego Bay.

Grand Marina

Full service marina of over 400 berths on the Alameda bank of the Oakland Estuary, at the foot of Grand Street.

Guest Mooring up to 55'

Guest mooring field at Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo Bay, California, for vessels up to 55 feet. Sand bottom, sheltered behind the harbour breakwater.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, SW, S

Half Moon Bay Yacht Club

Volunteer-run yacht club inside Pillar Point Harbour at Princeton-by-the-Sea, about 25 miles south of San Francisco.

Hidden Harbor Marina

Private marina of 102 berths at the confluence of Cache and Steamboat Sloughs, two miles north of Rio Vista in the Sacramento Delta.

Holland Riverside Marina

Marina on Holland Tract reclaimed island in the northern California Delta, near Oakley.

Huntington Harbour Marina

Marina of 171 berths at 4281 Warner Avenue in Huntington Beach, set inside the network of channels of Huntington Harbour, north Orange County.

Huntington Harbour Yacht Club

Members yacht club on Warner Avenue, on the south side of Huntington Harbour in Huntington Beach, California.

Hyde Street Harbor

Working commercial fishing harbour at the foot of Hyde Street in Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, opened in June 2001.

Intrepid landing

Private marina on Shelter Island in San Diego Bay, at 2805 Dickens Street in Point Loma. Berths vessels from 9 to 60 metres LOA.