Monterey Bay:

The anchorage in Monterey Bay can be a rolly one…. or so i have heard. We stopped at the famous Bay city on our first boat TARA cause we needed a part for our auto pilot. We did not use the anchorage, but looked at it from the beach and admired the huge mega yacht owned by the VP of Microsoft that took up most of it. We did how ever stay in the marina, which can be an adventure all in its self to get in, shooting the gab between a giant concreat wall/ jetty and the very tall pier with onlookers to boot. When staying in the marina there really is no need to visit the aquarium, as the water under your boat is  SO CLEAR you can see all the way to the bottom and see all the sea creatures. One morning we were woken up to hearing a clanking and thumping, when we looked outside a very cute sea otter popped its head out from the boat next to us, gave us a quick look and then proceeded to whale its catch (some kind of Mollusks) on the hull till it opened. Cleaver little guys.. we were just glad it wasn’t our hull he was banging on.

All together this is a great stop, just be prepared to bash your way out when you need to keep heading south.

Stillwater Cove: (Pebble Beach Yacht Club)

This was a little slice of heaven. We did not in fact anchor in here, as we were guest and got to use a mooring for a night. But there was another boat anchored in here, and as far as we could see there is really only room for one boat to be anchored. This cove is Jammed packed full of kelp. I’m sure it’s different every season, but the boat that anchored near us, they were in a kinda clear patch, and dropped the hook in about 25ft. With just enough swing room not to hit the death looking rocks right behind them. Not sure the rules for dinghy landing here, as the cove I think belongs to the yacht club. We were with friends who let us land and they took us to dinner. It is a beautiful spot and a great stop for a night or two if you don’t mind staying on the boat. And I have also heard that it can get very crowded during the summer with mega yachts and what not because of the yacht club. So maybe you can go there and make some friends and ask for ice 🙂