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Mendocino headlands & Van Damme

SunsetsNo permitNo mooring buoys

Also good for snorkeling

Northern California, USMendocino headlands & Van Damme
View type
Best time
Evening, with low sun through the arches
Anchorage
Coordinates39°18′18″ N, 123°48′23″ W

A headland cut through with arches, tunnels and blowholes that a kayak can go into, with bull kelp standing in the swell outside and the village of Mendocino on the bluff above looking like the New England town its builders were copying. Built by loggers shipping redwood out through 'dog-hole' ports along this coast, where schooners loaded under chutes from the cliffs; the sea caves and arches are what the swell has since done to the same rock. The village survives largely intact and is a historic district. Anchorage: No proper anchorage. Noyo harbour at Fort Bragg, 8nm north, is the base; this coast is visited in settled weather and left before the wind fills in. Hazards: Cold water, surge in the tunnels, and a coast with no shelter. Only go into the sea caves with a flat sea, and know the swell forecast before you launch.

Weather

°C°F

Experiences nearby

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