Bolinas Lagoon Overnight

The Little Helpers and I decided to do an overnight in Bolinas Lagoon, after which I could drop them ashore the next day to surf with their Mom at Bolinas Beach. The lagoon was also on my "must visit" list so was glad to finally get on with it. On the sail out we encountered 25 - 30 knot gusts in The Bay and then very gentle conditions in open water (typical bipolar weather conditions here).

 

We encountered several pods of whales about a mile offshore as we approached Stinson beach. It was enough excitement to get the girls out of their cabins, but only just.

Crossing the Bolinas Bar was something I had spent some time preparing for. We had been visiting Bolinas Beach for many years giving me lots of time to observe the comings and goings across the bar at different parts of the tide. I also swam across the bar a month or so earlier to check the depths and channel location. As we approached the bar, I had the Little Helpers sit on each deck with their life jackets on just in case. The ocean swell was only one foot (on the face) but was still faster than the Tohatsu at full power, and we were overtaken by a breaking wave - no problem with the Wharram design but showing that we can only do this bar in ideal conditions for safety.

Inside the Bolinas Lagoon

Inside the lagoon seems large but is mostly shallow water at anything less than high tide. We tried several spots and anchored for the night next to Kent Island. The girls went for a walk into town and came back wet after crossing the channel to get back.

We settled in for the night with the tent up and had an early night after a feed.

Next morning was overcast but still beautiful.

The next morning the girl's Mom showed up on her surfboard, and we up anchored to drop the girls at the beach at the channel entrance. The sand shelves deeply and they stepped off the bow of Little Cat into ankle deep water. The girls stayed to surf for the day and then went home with Mom. I turned the boat back into the lagoon and followed the channel to go exploring.

Little Cat drying out in the middle of Bolinas Lagoon.

We got about half a mile before running aground on a sand bar with the tide dropping. The boat ended up high and dry and I spent the afternoon walking around the middle of the Lagoon on the hard sand.

A refuge for large numbers of pelicans.

The lagoon is a breathtakingly beautiful place. An unseasonably large number of pelicans were staying over (according to a local out for a walk) and I had the company of hundreds of pelicans along with other shallow water birds.

A view of the boat I don't get to see often. On the hard at low tide.

I settled in for a second night, glad to have the deck tent as the breeze was mild but cool. I was surprised to find that my new Fortress 4lb anchor had dragged a couple hundred yards during the night. It was not entirely the anchors fault as the tide moves fast in the lagoon (I would guess 4-5 knots) and the sand is hard packed. I think the fast moving water washed the hard sand away from around the anchor, and it "flew" before re-engaging. Still, it is a reminder that the Fortress is suited to the mud of the Bay, not so much to anything else.

Complete stillness.

The morning was magical! Cool and foggy, but entirely still. So easy on the mind - what an incredibly restful place. I cooked up a bacon and egg feast, and then started packing gear away for the trip back to the Bay.

Bacon and egg treat.

Heading out back over the bar and the one-foot swell was still there at about mid tide. We threaded through the surfers with bow pointed skywards over a couple of peaking breakers. A two foot swell is going to be absolute max for Little Cat crossing the Bolinas bar, regardless of how favorable the tide is. We had a nice sail home, and encountered strong winds again on re-entering the Bay.

Bolinas Lagoon is a stunner and I will be coming back.