What should I watch out for at Pitt Passage?

Pitt Island and its surrounding rocks and shoals block the middle of the channel. Boats that know these waters squeeze through east of the island; without that local knowledge, go around instead.

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.

Pitt Passage — Currents, Slack & Local Knowledge

Pitt Passage 2

Open the map ↗

Pitt Passage connects Drayton Passage and Carr Inlet, running between Key Peninsula and McNeil Island.

Timing

The ebb, setting north, runs stronger than the flood — 2.5 knots or more at times.

Pitt PassagePhoto: Steven Pavlov / Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA-4.0)

Coast Pilot, In Plain Words

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

Read the official text

Caution

Wyckoff Shoal, part of which bares, extends 0.8 mile northwest from the northwest part of McNeil Island. Lights on the west side of the shoal mark the east side of the channel leading into Pitt Passage.

Pitt Passage, between Key Peninsula and McNeil Island, connects Drayton Passage and Carr Inlet. It is obstructed about midway of its length by Pitt Island and its surrounding rocks and shoals. Only the passage east of Pitt Island is used by small craft with local knowledge. In this passage the ebb (north current) is stronger than the flood and attains a velocity of 2.5 knots or more at times.

Source: U.S. Coast Pilot 10, Chapter 8, 7 ed. (NOAA, Office of Coast Survey). Updated weekly. Official Coast Pilot ↗

Local Knowledge

Watch out
Pitt Island and its surrounding rocks and shoals block the middle of the channel. Boats that know these waters squeeze through east of the island; without that local knowledge, go around instead.
Timing
The ebb, setting north, runs stronger than the flood — 2.5 knots or more at times.
Tip
Wyckoff Shoal reaches 0.8 mile northwest from McNeil Island. Lights along its west side mark the east edge of the channel into Pitt Passage.

Plan a Trip Through Pitt Passage

1. Start from

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

2. Cross to the other side of Pitt Passage

Penrose Point State Park → Pitt Passage · 2.5 nm · ~0h 19m at · from the northwest

Stations & Data

Pitt Passage, NE of Pitt IslandCurrent · primary · PUG1536

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

Questions

What is Pitt Passage?: Pitt Passage connects Drayton Passage and Carr Inlet, running between Key Peninsula and McNeil Island.
When is the best time to go through Pitt Passage?: The ebb, setting north, runs stronger than the flood — 2.5 knots or more at times.
What should I watch out for at Pitt Passage?: Pitt Island and its surrounding rocks and shoals block the middle of the channel. Boats that know these waters squeeze through east of the island; without that local knowledge, go around instead.
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.