If you're a boating enthusiast, a seafood lover, a snowy plover or simply curious about new worlds, Pillar Point Harbor is where you'll want to berth.
Protected by the jutting Pillar Point cliffs, the harbor is a bustling community full of charm and tranquility. The modern fish dock, ice-making facility and commercial fish-buying hub serve a fishing fleet of nearly 200 boats that in recent years landed over 9,700,000 pounds of fish that was distributed from the Coastside to Japan. Charter boats host regular sportfishing and whale watching parties. Yet, you can also enjoy quiet strolls near the ocean amid the squeak of moorings and the cry of sea birds.
The harbor has come a long way since sailors with bags of grain on their shoulders waded out to their anchored ships in the 1850s. In 1961, two breakwaters were completed by the Army Corps of Engineers to form an even more protected harbor for commercial and recreational boats. Johnson Pier was built in the 1960s and 369 floating berths were completed in 1985. Half of them hold fishing vessels and the other half are for pleasure craft. Toward the harbor's north end, some 40 families live aboard their vessels in a closely knit floating community. Seventy-one new berths are planned to accommodate recreational vessels.
The harbor's six-lane boat launch ramp - dedicated in 1992 and one of the biggest in the state - is the site of an estimated 8,000 launches each year. Under the stern shadow of the big dish at the Pillar Point Tracking Station, nearly an acre of the harbor's west shoreline area has been set aside as a protected intertidal habitat for the snowy plover and other shorebirds. Visitors can learn about the marsh and its fragile ecosystem through interpretive signage.
Hobby fishermen can try their luck for rockfish or halibut off the pier on the west inner breakwater. If they aren't biting, you can still buy from commercial fishermen who sell their fresh catch right from their boats, from the wholesalers at the end of the pier, or from one of several restaurants surrounding the harbor.
Sportfishing and whale watching are two ways to have fun at the harbor. When gray whales migrate south from October to March, Huck Finn Sportfishing (726-7133), Captain John's (728-3377) and the Oceanic Society (474-3385) offer weekend whale watching trips. Huck Finn and Capt. John's also host sportfishing groups. For an easy catch of trophy- or pan-size trout, try Lintt's Trout Farm at 11751 San Mateo Road, 726-0845. Hilltop Market 251 San Mateo Road has bait, tackle and updates on the catch.
Pillar Point's dedicated Search and Rescue service maintains a reputation for safety. Using the 32-foot fiberglass boat "Radon" to aid mariners and tow disabled vessels, the district averages 110 rescues annually, and has saved over 100 lives and millions of dollars in property.
The public can enjoy more seafood and the fishing community at the annual Harobr Day, held on the last Saturday of September. In the parking lot amid crafts booths and music, you can try seafood barbecue, salmon, albacore, rockfish and calamari. It's the Half Moon Bay Fishermen's Marketing Association's way of generating interest in the harbor and its commercial fishing roots.
Half Moon Bay Review, 1995