Boating, Fishing, and Travel Information for Shelter Cove, CA

There are no wharves in the cove. Water may be obtained ashore, but must be carried down from the plateau. A marine supply store is on the bluff on the W side of the cove. Gasoline, diesel fuel, lubricants, ice, marine supplies, and provisions are available. A launching ramp is at the head of the cove.
A pump-out station and dry winter storage are at Shelter Cove. Local boat launch service monitors VHF-FM channel 68.
Navigation:
Click the “Map View” button above to see a chart of this harbor.
Point Delgada, 66 miles N of Point Arena, and nearly 20 miles S of Punta Gorda, is a cliff-faced plateau making out about a mile from the general trend of the coast. The seaward face of the plateau is a mile long and bordered by numerous rocks. A lighted horn buoy is 1.1 miles SW from the point, and a bell buoy is 0.8 miles SE from the point. A paved airplane landing strip, approximately 3,500 feet and a 43-foot high lighthouse (unlit) which can be observed offshore during the day are on the point.
Shelter Cove lies under the S face of Point Delgada and affords fair shelter in NW weather, but is exposed and dangerous with S or SE winds. Occasionally a swell runs in the cove.
The rocks covered 1 to 5 fathoms S of Point Delgada can be avoided in approaching Shelter Cove by staying over 200 yards S of the lighted whistle buoy and E of the bell buoy.