Sandy Beach Cove

Sandy Beach Cove lay below the fort and was linked to the settlement’s principal port, Port Rumiantsev at Bodega Bay, 19 miles to the south, where a deep-water anchorage and warehouse served Russian Navy and Russian-American Company ships visiting California ports for trade and scientific studies, as well as vessels from many other countries. Travel and transport of goods between Sandy Beach and Port Rumiantsev were frequent, using Russian launches, Native Alaskan baldarkas, or kayaks, and baidaras, large open skin boats that carried cargo and as many as 15 passengers. The cove area included sheds for boats, a forge and blacksmith shop, tannery, cooperage, public bath, boat shop, and shipways for building ships. Farm implements and launches were sold and traded to the Spanish, and four Russian-American Company ships, three brigs and a schooner, were the first built on the California coast. The shipyard was abandoned by 1825, but the Company continued to build smaller boats.

California · United States