An Afternoon in McCovey Cove

Ever since the Giants ballpark opened (way back in the Barry Bonds days), I’ve dreamed of being one of the fans hanging out in McCovey Cove. And just nineteen short years later, I finally did it! I guess some dreams take a little longer to come to fruition than others.

We cruised over to San Francisco with my parents to celebrate Father’s Day and spent the afternoon anchored out in beautiful McCovey Cove, listening to the game, soaking up some sun (when Karl the Fog was nice enough to let a few rays peek through), and drinking ice cold Anchor Steams. It was a pretty fantastic day.

We also learned a few things along the way (as we often do when we take the Catalina Wine Mixer out for a spin). So, if you’re planning to take in a game from the cove, here are five things you might want to keep in mind.

1) Get There Early (But Not Too Early)

It was a relatively quiet day in the cove (there were maybe four other boats and a handful of kayakers), so we had plenty of room to maneuver. But we planned to arrive two hours early just in case. It was nice to have some extra time to get settled before the game started. You can drop anchor up to two hours before the game is scheduled to start (no sooner!) and you have to leave shortly after the game ends – so no anchoring overnight.

Showing up two hours before the first pitch gave us plenty of time to get settled.

2) Drop Anchor in the Right Spot

Several large ferries came and went before and after the game, so you want to be sure you stay out of their way. There’s also a “no motor” zone to avoid. We used this handy little guide to decide where to drop anchor and ended up with an awesome view of the park.

We dropped anchor, grabbed a couple beers and made ourselves comfortable on the bow.

3) There’s a Surprisingly Long Radio Delay

We were able to use our antenna to watch the game on our middeck TV (although the reception was a little touchy) and listened over the radio on the bow. Both were at least a couple minutes behind, so when the crowd cheered, we had to wait a while to find out what happened! Not that it stopped us from cheering with the crowd in real time. We didn’t want to be left out!

4) Tell Your Friends and Family to Watch for You

Our cousins were at the game with their dad and spotted us from their seats! It was fun running into our family, even if we weren’t technically in the same place.

Thanks for getting a picture from our good side, Gianna! :)

5) Bring the BBQ (or Some Snacks)

We were anchored out for a few hours, so inevitably our crew got a little hungry! Brian and my dad grilled up some veggie dogs and burgers on the aft deck (while enjoying a pretty unbeatable view). Being at the game made them taste extra delicious!