What should I watch out for at Harney Channel?

A 9-fathom shoal sits about 700 yards east of Broken Point, the north tip of Shaw Island — shallow enough to note, though still well clear of most keels.

What does Class 2 mean?

Class 2 is BoatRoutes' own 1-to-5 rating of how costly a timing or judgment mistake is here — it is not a NOAA scale. Class 2 means one thing to plan around (depth, a schedule, or mild current); getting it wrong costs time, not safety.

Harney Channel — Currents, Slack & Local Knowledge

Harney Channel 2

Open the map ↗

Cayou Channel — labeled Harney Channel on the chart geotag — runs between Shaw and Orcas Islands and is the east-side approach to West Sound. Depths generally run 11 to 30 fathoms.

Timing

NOAA runs a current station in the channel, but no published depth bin is confirmed yet, so there's no current-speed number here. Go through on a moderate tide stage.

Harney ChannelPhoto: Bureau of Land Management Oregon and Washington from Portland, America / Wikimedia Commons (PD)

Coast Pilot, In Plain Words

Here is what the U.S. Coast Pilot says about Harney Channel and the water around it. The official text is below.

Read the official text

Minor passages, San Juan Islands

Cayou Channel, between Shaw and Orcas Islands, is the approach to West Sound from the east. General depths in the channel range from 11 to 30 fathoms with a 9-fathom shoal 700 yards east of Broken Point, the northernmost extremity of Shaw Island.

Orcas, a village located on the north shore in a cove at the west end of Cayou Channel, has a public wharf with about 9 feet alongside. Several year-round stores are located at Orcas; water, ice and some marine supplies are available. The ferry slip just east of the wharf serves the interisland ferry that operates from Anacortes. A rock, covered 2½ fathoms, is about 125 yards south of the wharf; deep water is between the rock and the shore.

Source: U.S. Coast Pilot 10, Chapter 7, 7 ed. (NOAA, Office of Coast Survey). Updated weekly. Official Coast Pilot ↗

Local Knowledge

Watch out
A 9-fathom shoal sits about 700 yards east of Broken Point, the north tip of Shaw Island — shallow enough to note, though still well clear of most keels.
Tip
The village of Orcas sits in a cove at the channel's west end, with a public wharf (about 9 feet alongside), a few year-round stores, and the interisland ferry slip. A covered rock sits about 125 yards south of the wharf — pass between it and the shore, where the water stays deep.
Timing
NOAA runs a current station in the channel, but no published depth bin is confirmed yet, so there's no current-speed number here. Go through on a moderate tide stage.

Plan a Trip Through Harney Channel

1. Start from

Nearest harbor on each side of the narrows. Pick a side to start there.

2. Cross to the other side of Harney Channel

West Sound Marina → Harney Channel · 2.0 nm · ~0h 15m at · from the northwest

Stations & Data

Harney Channel, north of Point HudsonCurrent · primary · PUG1722

Times are NOAA predictions, not live readings. Open a station for its full tide and current charts.

Questions

What is Harney Channel?: Cayou Channel — labeled Harney Channel on the chart geotag — runs between Shaw and Orcas Islands and is the east-side approach to West Sound. Depths generally run 11 to 30 fathoms.
When is the best time to go through Harney Channel?: NOAA runs a current station in the channel, but no published depth bin is confirmed yet, so there's no current-speed number here. Go through on a moderate tide stage.
What should I watch out for at Harney Channel?: A 9-fathom shoal sits about 700 yards east of Broken Point, the north tip of Shaw Island — shallow enough to note, though still well clear of most keels.
What does Class 2 mean?: Class 2 is BoatRoutes' own 1-to-5 rating of how costly a timing or judgment mistake is here — it is not a NOAA scale. Class 2 means one thing to plan around (depth, a schedule, or mild current); getting it wrong costs time, not safety.

Predictions, not observations · U.S. Coast Pilot 10 (7 ed.)

U.S. Coast Pilot text is a work of the U.S. Government and is in the public domain. Per 17 U.S.C. §403, no copyright is claimed in that text. BoatRoutes is not endorsed by NOAA.