Boats that had been illegally anchored out in Richardson Bay off of Sausalito, have been removed.
Santiago Mejia/S.F. Chronicle
The last of the anchor-outs, a group of live-on sailboats and powerboats moored illegally for years in the middle of Sausalito’s Richardson Bay, are finally moving on.
Less than two years after launching a program to clear Richardson Bay’s 700-acre eelgrass Protection Zone, the last remaining boat left last week, according to the Richardson Bay Regional Agency. Two other vessels, anchored outside of the Eelgrass Protection Zone, are expected to be gone by October.
Agency Board Chair Jack Ryan called the development a “huge accomplishment” for “everyone who appreciates and supports the enormous environmental benefits of Richardson Bay.”
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The agency launched the protection zone in October 2024 to protect eelgrass, which provides an important spawning ground for herring and a central component of an ecosystem that supports everything from seabirds to whales. It was part of an ongoing campaign to rid the bay of illegal vessels, which had proliferated during the pandemic to more than 100.
By the time of the zone launch in October of 2024, there were still about 25 boats anchored within the off-limits zone.
A cluster of live-aboard boats is seen in the anchorage in Richardson Bay in 2021, off of Sausalito.
Amy Osborne/Special to the Chronicle
Sausalito and the Richardson Bay Regional Agency had spent years trying to encourage the community of anchor-outs to relocate to land, or to one of the city’s colorful houseboat marinas. But various programs were largely unsuccessful. The agency attempted to enforce laws that limit vessels anchored in the bay to 72 hours, unless a 30-day permit is applied for and approved, but those efforts were mostly ignored.
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During the pandemic, the agency stepped up the campaign to clear anchor-outs from the bay, but progress was slow. Initially, the agency set up a program where anchor-outs could apply to move their boats into slips in five of Sausalito’s established marinas. Only two anchor outs took advantage of the offer.
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Eventually State Senator Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, secured $3 million in state funds, which paid for housing vouchers — on land — for eligible participants living on the waters of Richardson Bay. Typically, the vouchers are for about $2,500.
In total 51 anchor-outs have been housed from the anchorage utilizing assorted programs. Of the two vessels left in the designated anchorage of Richardson Bay, one belongs to an individual actively seeking housing in collaboration with the agency program, according to agency executive director Brad Gross. The other is enrolled in the agency’s Safe and Seaworthy plan, making them eligible to stay in the anchorage until Oct. 26. With the exception of these two vessels, anchoring is only allowed for up to 72 hours without a permit.
“We continue to see great progress in our mission to protect and restore Richardson Bay so that everyone in our community can enjoy this amazing waterway,” Gross said. “It has been, and will continue to be a remarkable journey.”
The owner of the last boat anchored in the protection zone had been working on getting housing, but eventually decided to relocate his boat outside of Richardson Bay.
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“We had been working with him for years to leave. He had tried to get housing and it didn’t work out for him so we said ‘OK, time to go,’” Gross said. “So he went.”
He added: “We had already got rid of all the bad derelict wrecks. The only people left were people with operable boats.”
With the anchor-outs gone, the agency can focus on eelgrass restoration. So far, 14 acres of eelgrass has been planted. Another acre will be planted in June.
“We are able to replant eelgrass in the areas they have damaged with their anchor scars,” he said. “The eelgrass is now getting adequate sunlight.”
The removal of the liveaboards also opens up the bay for other activities, Gross said.
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“They just held a kids sailboat regatta,” he said. “They hadn’t been able to do it in years because the place was so peppered with less-than-seaworthy vessels.”
One veteran anchor-out who took advantage of the housing voucher program was Drew Warner, who was moved into a hilltop apartment in Marin City. From there Warner told the Chronicle he enjoys watching the churning grays and blues of Richardson Bay from afar.
He said he now feels like he’s “living on top of the world.”
“I’ve got two balconies — upper floor, lower floor, stainless steel kitchen, washer and dryer,” he said. “The place looks like something out of Martha Stewart.”
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