Visiting San Francisco by yacht

When to come to San Francisco by yacht, which harbors take guest vessels, where yachts anchor, and the customs and pilotage rules.

Picture made with AI. It shows the place but is not a photograph.

Climate

When to come

Months	Mean high	Rain per month	Notes
December to March	14 to 17 C	80 to 121 mm	Winter
April to May	17 to 18 C	18 to 41 mm	Rain eases
June to September	19 to 21 C	0 to 5 mm	Driest months
October	21 C	24 mm	Warmest month with September
November	18 C	66 mm	Rain returns

Source: NOAA NCEI 1991 to 2020 monthly normals, San Francisco Downtown. Season bands are our own estimate.

Guest berths

Guest harbors

South Beach HarborThe Port of San Francisco guest page lists a maximum vessel length of 50 ft and a maximum stay of 14 days. Reservations open up to two calendar months ahead. On 8 November 2026 the harbor page said the South Guest Dock was tentatively closed from 14 October 2026 for maintenance and renovations.

Pier 39 MarinaIts site says guest docking runs from March to mid October, with reservations for stays under 7 days and transient docking for 7 to 30 days. On 8 November 2026 it was taking no more guest docking requests for 2026. Phone 415-705-5436.

Municipal Yacht HarborNOAA Coast Pilot 7 says the harbor holds about 700 boats and has depths of 8 to 12 feet at the berths. Guest berths are available. Transients report to the harbormaster's office on the south side of the west basin.

Anchorages

Where yachts anchor

Aquatic Park Cove

The cove is closed to power vessels and the speed limit is 3 knots. Small craft can anchor in about 13 feet. Overnight anchoring is by permit only, online at recreation.gov. Call the park permit officer on VHF-FM channel 83A (NOAA Coast Pilot 7).

Richardson Bay

A special anchorage. Local authorities control anchoring and moorings. Call the Richardson Bay Regional Agency on 415-971-3919. The bay is a no-discharge zone, and a no-wake limit applies in all channels. The wildlife sanctuary in the north is closed to marine traffic from October to March (NOAA Coast Pilot 7).

Not for anchoring

China Basin is a no anchorage zone. Two submarine pipeline areas cross the bay within General Anchorage 9, and mariners must not anchor there (NOAA Coast Pilot 7).

Getting here

Clearance, licence and pilotage

Customs

Reporting arrival

The NOAA Coast Pilot says San Francisco is a customs port of entry. The CBP overview for pleasure boats says arrival must be reported immediately under 19 CFR 4.2, and that the Small Vessel Reporting System is no longer in service. The CBP ROAM app is available. Check the rules for your passport.

Licence

Cruising licence

19 CFR 4.94 allows a cruising licence only for a yacht of a country on its list. The licence runs for a stated period of up to one year. The yacht must not engage in trade. A foreign-flag yacht without a cruising licence must follow the laws for foreign vessels arriving at ports of the United States. Check the rules for your passport.

Pilotage

San Francisco Bar Pilots

The NOAA Coast Pilot says pilotage in and out of San Francisco is compulsory for all vessels of foreign registry and U.S. vessels under enrollment not having a federal licensed pilot on board. The pilots list the office at Pier 9 East End, San Francisco CA 94111, phone 415-362-5436. They board 11 miles west of the Golden Gate Bridge, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

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