Santa Cruz Island - Coches Prietas anchorage

Coches Prietas Anchorage, Santa Cruz Island

Loc: mid-south coast Santa Cruz	Lat: N 33-58.01	Long: W 119-42.45	Last visit: Sept 08
Tide/Sun/Moon/WX	Dist: 6	Prisoners, Santa Cruz	WX
Chart	18729	Anacapa Passage	Google Earth
Skipper: John Gilbert	Boat: S/V Sherpa	Capt. Dan	Port: Chan Islands
Landing Permit	Required	Nature Conservancy	permit app

Coches Prietas - we've often been told it means Black Pig; however, our multilingual dictionary - Spanish to English - says coches has something to do with cars and Prietas, well, Prietas just isn't in that dictionary. Accorging to Jeffrey Mills, a local sailor, "Coches" has {probably} been corrupted from the word "cochas", which means "lagoons". So Jeffrey thinks that Coches Prietas is supposed to mean "Dark Lagoons". It could mean beautiful anchorage. At least it should mean that, at least based on our April 06 experience.

Two Choices It's actually twin anchorages - Albert and Coches, which have similar protection from wind and swell, which is pretty good from the north and west and no protection from south and east. Coches does have the advantage of getting more sun late in the day.

Approach Finding these anchorages coming from east or west is simple. The picture below, left shows an approach from the east. Bowen Pt. Is in the background. In the late afternoon, everything is in silhouette and at this distance, it's hard to see Albert's and Coches. They're in the foreground, just to the right of Bowen Pt.

On closer approach this distinctive headland becomes visible (pictures 3 and 4). It separates Coches and Albert's. Coches is to west. Give the headland at least a quarter mile clearance to avoid gathering kelp or hitting the submerged rocks indicated on chart 18728 a few hundred feet from the headland.

Passing the headland, the Coches Prietas beach and anchorage open before you. This picture was taken under an overcast, but that's the beach about 1 o'clock.

If there is the typical NW wind, anchor as close to the cliff at 1 o'clock. But we had trouble getting both anchors to set, and we ended up about where the boat in the top picture is. That's a pretty exposed spot, but we were fortunate that wind and sea state subsided near sunset.

When we were in there a year ago, we put two anchors down just east of the cliff. Approach the beach slowly to avoid kelp and submerged rocks. The shallowest sounding is 2 fathoms and a fraction.

How we did it, specifically When approaching Coches from the East or from Albert's Anchorage, there is a rocky point that must be given adequate clearance due to submerged rocks that extend south from the point. The anchorage is fairly wide with rocky cliffs on the west and east and a small sandy beach on the north. We motored close to the beach and set our stern anchor in about 25 feet of water. We motored toward the western cliffs as we let out the stern road. The bow anchor was set in about 30 feet of water and then we pulled back on the stern road. We were settled about 200 ft from the sandy beach with a mild wind from the south.

For safety, we had a quick getaway plan and we also set our GPS anchor alarm for 120ft of movement. This was fortunate in a way, because at 0530 the alarm sounded. We were able to to pull up the anchors and motor out fairly quickly. We were not in any danger though because the wind had shifted to the north and we were being pushed out to sea, not into the shore.

Uncharted Hazards Some kelp, but on this visit, certainly not much of a factor. Also, beware of Santa Ana winds. You'd be in grave danger, particularly on the west side of the anchorage. However, some local experts think you can snuggle into the east side (pic above) and seek refuge.

Landing Permits Required If you intend to go ashore, you'll need a landing permit ($70 for all year) from the Nature Conservancy. Go to permit for a pdf form, mailing and e-mailing instructions.

Updates If you have new or amplifying information concerning this anchorage or the surrounding area, please contact Capt. Dan. His e-mail link and phone are below.

Photos