Half Moon Bay (Pillar Point Harbor)
San Mateo Coast · near Half Moon Bay · SF Bay Area
Sailing
At a glance
- Difficulty
- advanced
- Best season
- Late summer–fall (calmest, clearest; spring/summer windy & foggy)
- Water temperature
- Cold (low-mid 50s°F) — dress warm
What is here
- Amenities
- Protected Pillar Point Harbor & anchorage · Rare NorCal coastal day-sail base · Fuel, launch & harbor services · Coastal cruising jump-off
- Best for
- Coastal day-sailing & a protected ocean anchorage
- Features
- Sail on the open Pacific · Protected harbor anchorage · Coastal cruising base south of the Gate · Wild San Mateo coast
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- Open-ocean swell & wind outside the harbor · Fog (frequent) & cold water · Mavericks big-wave zone nearby (huge winter swell) · Limited coastal refuges — commit carefully
- Good for a first timer
- No
Guides, rentals and operators
- Lessons
- No
Sailing detail
- Styles
- day-sail · cruising
- Breeze
- moderate
- Venue
- ocean
- Exposure
- 4
- Sailing
- Protected Pillar Point Harbor opening onto the open Pacific — coastal day-sailing and a rare NorCal coastal anchorage, with real ocean conditions outside the breakwater
- Intl tip
- A rare protected harbor on the open coast south of the Gate — calm inside the breakwater, real OPEN PACIFIC outside (swell, wind, fog, cold water). The Mavericks big-wave break is just offshore (a giant in winter). Advanced coastal sailing: limited refuges, navigate carefully, watch the fog. Calmest in late summer/fall. A jump-off for coastal cruising or ocean day-sails from a sheltered base.
The guide
Pillar Point Harbor at Half Moon Bay is one of the few protected small-craft harbors on the exposed coast south of the Golden G…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Half Moon Bay (Pillar Point Harbor) — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 37.5, -122.482