Ayala Cove

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Ayala Cove on Angel Island is the most protected anchorage in the entire central bay area, and is a delightful place to stay with easy access to Angel Island trails. Although often busy during summer weekends, there is normally a place to moor; and during the week and off-season it is often deserted. There is some wake action from the ferries, but only during the day.

There is a large mooring field with permanent mooring balls. You can also use the docks only during the day ($10 fee for all or any part of the day), or stay on a mooring overnight ($40). Boats are moored fore and aft, so bring a long line - I generally use 2x 100' lines, through the mooring ball and back to the cleats on the boat. THis makes it much easier to release the lines when you wish to leave.

Incidentally, for snagging a mooring the "Robship Hook and Moor" is the best I have found (e.g. 2.5 Meter Telescoping Boat Hook with Moor Hook). I did have a "Happy Hooker", which is cheaper, but the all-plastic design was not robust enough.

Note that the mooring field has a "dome" in the middle (not shown in the topo above), and so can be shallow there for deeper draft boats.