Our Delta: Best docking & restaurants & best ___?

D

DLL

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I was reading the info on Rio Vista with interest, remembering the winds in the marina and remembering driving over with friends. My wife's best friend grew up there, fascinating to hear about Rio Vista and that area in "the old days". Interesting stories.

So...what are the coordinates and name of the best anchorages? Names are nice, but not all of us know the nicknames, etc. If I have coordinates, I can find that.

Any places to avoid? Like someone mentioned the northwest corner of Mildred is covered in
vegetation or something. That is nice to know. I quit going to the American River anchorage a few years ago because of the excess drinking and loud music. Music is fine, but after midnight, I had had enough.

Is there any place deep enough we can anchor and have shade, even part of the day?
 
Miner Slough has some large trees along the bank that provide good shade. But the entrance to it can be a little shallow. Prospect Slough also has some places.
 
Dave,

Most of us know our spots by the surrounding landmarks and the path in. I might have coordinates to a few in the plotter, but the best way is to sit down over a beer with a map and a friend. Not to mention that one of the Delta's charms is simply dinking around and finding places. It can be a great way to spend a weekend in your dinghy. Slather some sun screen on Chris, load the icechest up, throw in your breathing gear and pick a direction. You'll find someplace to eat and you may discover some great spots. A handheld depth sounder is handy for checking out spots too.
 
Check out the area west of Cache Slu/Sac Deepwater Channel. Lots of nice tall trees create shade, the water clean with a good current and there aren't many wakes. Closest fuel/ice is at Viera's, so plan ahead and have a beautiful weekend!
 
I'll respectfully disagree with Flutter and won't recommend the Cache Slough area. It has some trees but also some of the murkiest, nastiest looking water you will find in the Delta. It's been that way the last 10-15 years, now. There has been a lot of engineering done in this area especially on the former Liberty Island. If you don't mind water that looks like mud all year long, big tidal swings and some of the strongest wind on the Delta it might OK for you.

There are strong currents up there so it's not a very good area for swimming or letting the kids play around on the water. But, I don't expect anyone on your boat will want to touch that water, let alone take a dip in it...
 
I haven't been up cache in a long time. But Miner Slough should be OK still. About a mile or so up Miner off to the left there is a small inlet. It's the second inlet you come to, not the first one. At the mouth of the inlet is a small sandbar where we would either put the boat up on or anchor off of. At low tide it makes for a nice private, sheltered beach.
 
yzer-----Thanks for updating me! It is too bad the water quality has been eroded. I haven't been up there for a few years. The water used to be crystal clear!!!!!
 
No problem. Hal Schell wrote during his last years that the Cache Slough area may hold some promise for boaters in the future, and I suspect he was right. But, I wouldn't be surprised if it takes another 20 years for the water to clear up there.
 
I was going to start giving you coordinates for Horseshoe bend just south of Rio Vista and 3-mile slough, but then I saw you wanted shade. Now I'm having trouble... the places I frequent that would fit your boat don't have shade, and the ones that have shade won't fit your boat! I might need to broaden my horizons...

Edited to add: I quit going to the American River anchorage a few years ago because of the excess drinking and loud music. Music is fine, but after midnight, I had had enough.

What is this American River anchorage you speak of?
 
Before I forget, the American River is the one the Folsom Dam is on. It runs through Sacramento and joins the "Big Muddy" just upstream from Old Sacramento. It is clear and
quite pretty. During the week it is very peaceful, but some of the people on weekends like to drink and drive.

It was my first place to back in and tie up. The friendliest people on earth. A bunch of guys waded out to meet us (and protect their boats I learned).

As for places to tie up to and relax, I guess Dave is right. I had a list of coordinates on my Toshiba. Until it died.

Our dinghy has a an unreliable Honda engine...9.9hp. My brother in law has a 25hp 2 stroke engine he will give us...when he comes back from Mexico. Hmmm, 10-11ft Caribe...
hardbottom...hmmm, I need to look it up, see how many hp is recommended. Electric start for the boss (and Dave, she is Portuguese..I am Irish...I bathe in the SPF 1000).

A handheld depth sounder? In Oklahoma that consisted of a broom stick with markings.
I guess I could do that here. Give it to my bride, let her wade ahead of the dinghy, paint the stick orange, in case she steps into a hole. Then it would be easy to find the stick.
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Miner Slough? Prospect Slough? Georgiana Slough has some shady spots too.

I might check with Curt...A Bimini and some isenglas for winter time, get an electric start for the boss. Heck, adding an electric start to the Honda engine is expensive. Like anything with boating isn't.

It would be great to have a dinghy I could jump in, run around the delta, but our Honda is not reliable enough to use it. I threw away $295+ with Bucks Outboard Repair. They kept it almost a month and it wouldn't run when I put the engine back on the dinghy. They refused to come down to the Sac City Marina. I couldn't get the engine out without help, then we went on a trip for a few weeks. I should have hired someone to lift it up to the dock. It weighs about 100 pounds as I recall. Watch your engine run before you leave there, I made the mistake of trusting them.

Live and learn.
 
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