This page is designed to inform, entertain and connect those that live in and enjoy the Yacht Harbor experience. The homes situated near and around the harbor are some of the most manicured and beautiful homes in the county. Only a handful of avenues comprise the city of Santa Cruz portion of the Yacht Harbor homes. Marine Parade, and the Avenues are dotted with amazing homes with charm and charac
ter dating back to 1880. Many of the original home owners were from the Fresno area. Families that wanted to escape the heat, or farmers that were affluent and able to buy beach homes chose the Yacht Harbor to build second homes. At one time the area was called Fresno Beach. Now home to the famous Crow's Nest restaurant , Aldo's waterside dining and Cafe El Palomar, the harbor is a lovely place to walk and enjoy coffee or breakfast in the early morning. The sea will be rolling in, and the birds and sea lions waking up will stir your salty soul as you sip hot coffee and have one of Kind Grind's great muffins. One of the only places in Santa Cruz where you can hang out at a table on the sand, Cafe El Palomar is also the gathering spot for the Ukelele group that plays and sings every weekend. The Santa Cruz coast was first surveyed by the Army Corps of Engineers for a possible harbor of refuge in 1879. In 1949, Santa Cruz was resurveyed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In 1958, with tremendous local and state support, HD 357 was passed and was the fundamental federal legislation that authorized the Santa Cruz Small Craft Harbor and Beach Erosion Project. There were several key concepts in HD 357 that have proved quite important to the Port District since 1958. They are the concepts of littoral drift of sand; beach stabilization; annual federal dredging; federal ownership of the harbor entrance channel; and the eventual need for a permanent sand bypass system paid for by cost-sharing between the federal government and the Port District.