The Rydal Hall was carrying coal for San Francisco when it was wrecked near Pillar Point in October 1876. The coast here was hard on ships, and fierce winter storms sometimes destroyed boats even inside the harbor. Many shipwrecks and other nautical accidents happened along this stretch. Not far away, James Denniston had built a deep-water landing at Pillar Point that shipped lumber and produce to San Francisco.
In 1971 the ship’s anchor was recovered, and it still stands on display outside a nearby restaurant at the harbor.
An 1889 federal Coast Pilot warned that sailing vessels anchored in the bay should be ready to go to sea on the approach of bad weather.
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