Noyo Harbor

Noyo Harbor is Fort Bragg's working fishing port, built near the mouth of the Noyo River about a mile south of downtown, right below the Highway 1 Noyo Bridge. The Noyo Harbor District governs the harbor and runs the Noyo Mooring Basin. It's a real working harbor: multi-generational fishing families berth here, and visitors come to eat fresh fish, watch boats unload and walk the docks.

Layout

A jetty with a light and sound signal marks the north side of the entrance, with a smaller lighted jetty on the south side. A dredged channel runs between them and up the river about 0.6 mile to the Noyo Basin, which has reported depths of about 10 feet. A fixed highway bridge with 97 feet of clearance crosses the river about 300 yards in from the mouth. The District's basin has 256 slips for boats up to 65 feet, most with water and 30-amp power, plus a rental hoist on the main pier. The public launch is reached from the south side of the harbor bridge, and there's plenty of long-term parking for trucks and trailers. The Noyo River Coast Guard Station sits on the south bank just below the basin.

Who uses it

Commercial fishermen are the core of the harbor, and the District gives active fishing-permit holders a lower long-term slip rate. The wait for a permanent slip runs about five years. Trailer boaters launch here to fish the Mendocino coast, and cruising boats stop on the long run between San Francisco, about 130 nautical miles to the southeast, and Crescent City, about 145 nautical miles up the coast.

The Noyo bar

Hazardous bar conditions are common at the river entrance. Heavy west or southwest swells build breakers across the mouth, though there's good shelter once you're inside. The entrance is a Coast Guard Regulated Navigation Area. When conditions are unsafe, the Coast Guard can impose a bar restriction that keeps recreational, charter and commercial fishing boats off the bar, and it can close the bar to all vessels when conditions exceed its search-and-rescue capability. Both are announced on VHF 16 and 22A. If you cross during a restriction or under escort, everyone in an open part of the boat must wear a lifejacket.

Basin rules to know

Keep to 3 knots in the basin. Fueling, spray painting, major reconstruction and fishing from the floats are all prohibited there. Transient boats need a reservation and can stay up to 90 days a calendar year.