We spent a weekend anchored in Oro Bay on Anderson Island in the south sound in June 2019. The inner part of Oro Bay is very well sheltered and offers good holding for anchorage. I guess this inner bay is also known as Vega Bay.
We anchored Mosaic at approximately the red dot. Follow the marked channel to get in as it is fairly shallow.
The channel to get into the inner bay (Vega Bay) is shallow but well-marked. We draw 6 1/2 feet and, based on our depth gauge, would have been fine coming in even on low tide, provided we stayed in the marked channel.
Unfortunately, inside inner Oro Bay, we didn’t have any cell signal on our T-Mobile phones. We could get a bit of a signal on my AT&T wifi pack, but nothing on the Verizon jet pack. It did seem that we had better cell signal, on our phones at least, in the outer/eastern side of Oro Bay so if we go back we’ll likely try to anchor in that outer area.
The anchorage offered an interesting view of an old run-down ferry boat moored/beached in front of a house inside Oro Bay. Of course, we had to take a closer look on the dinghy.
We landed the dinghy with the kids to explore the island a little bit. There was an inviting pebble beach on the little peninsula sticking out into the bay where we could land the dinghy and go ashore to get some exercise. There was actually a really nice little pathway along the peninsula and some fun spots to explore even with signs along the path giving information on the history of the place.
All in all, Oro Bay was a delightful spot to spend a laid-back weekend with friends. Have you been there? Did this article help you at all? I’d love to hear about your experience at Anderson Island! Read more of my cruiser’s and anchorage reviews here. Thanks for reading! ~Rachel