Roche Harbor Entrances 1
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Roche Harbor has two ways in. The main entrance runs between the north end of Henry Island and the west end of Pearl Island. A second entrance comes from the south through Mosquito Pass, between Henry Island and Bazalgette Point.

Timing

Roche Harbor has two ways in. The main entrance runs between the north end of Henry Island and the west end of Pearl Island. A second entrance comes from the south through Mosquito Pass, between Henry Island and Bazalgette Point.

Roche Harbor Entrances
Roche Harbor EntrancesPhoto: uhrichj / Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-3.0)

Coast Pilot, In Plain Words

Here is what the U.S. Coast Pilot says about Roche Harbor Entrances and the water around it. The official text is below.

Read the official text

Local magnetic disturbance

Henry Island is close west of the north point of San Juan Island, from which it is separated by Mosquito Pass and Roche Harbor.

Roche Harbor has its main entrance between the north end of Henry Island and the west end of Pearl Island, which is marked by a light. Sandspits covered 17 and 18 feet extend into the channel from the islands on each side of the entrance. Entrance to the harbor can also be made from the south through Mosquito Pass between Henry Island and Bazalgette Point. The harbor has depths of 4 to 9 fathoms. It affords good anchorage and in the summer is used extensively by yachts. The harbormaster can be contacted on VHF-FM channel 78A.

A large resort is on the east side of Roche Harbor. The resort operates a wharf with shed, floats with berths for over 450 craft, including over 150 transient berths, a hotel, cabins, a general store and restaurant. Electricity, gasoline, diesel fuel, water, ice, a launching ramp, pump-out station and marine supplies are available. The site was once the largest lime works west of the Mississippi, and quarry tunnels and the ruins of the old mill are still prominent.

Battleship Island, small and 30 feet high, is about 0.2 mile west-northwest of McCracken Point, the north extremity of Henry Island, and is the west point in the approaches to Roche Harbor.

Spieden Channel leads east between Spieden Island on the north and Battleship, Henry and San Juan Islands on the south; the channel leads from Haro Strait to President Channel and San Juan Channel. The east entrance, the narrowest part, is 0.6 mile wide, and for 2 miles west of it the channel is free of danger. However, in the west entrance, which has an irregular bottom, are several dangers, but the fairway is deep throughout. The meeting of the flood currents, which flow east from Haro Strait and west from San Juan Channel, cause heavy tide rips and eddies. This channel is not recommended for sailing craft.

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

Local Knowledge

  • Watch out

    Sandspits reach into the fairway from both sides of the main entrance, covered by 17 and 18 feet of water — enough for most boats, but worth knowing about.

  • Tip

    Battleship Island marks the west point of the approach from Spieden Channel and Haro Strait. Boats coming that way should also mind Danger Shoal, in the Spieden Channel fairway partway between Battleship Island and Spieden Bluff.

  • Tip

    Roche Harbor is a U.S. Customs port of entry — there's a customs office at the resort dock on the harbor's east side, staffed full-time in summer, for boats arriving from Canada.

Plan a Trip Through Roche Harbor Entrances

1. Start from

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

2. Cross to the other side of Roche Harbor Entrances

Snug Harbor Marina Resort → Roche Harbor Entrances · 2.5 nm · ~0h 19m at · from the south

Full departure plan →

Questions

What is Roche Harbor Entrances?
Roche Harbor has two ways in. The main entrance runs between the north end of Henry Island and the west end of Pearl Island. A second entrance comes from the south through Mosquito Pass, between Henry Island and Bazalgette Point.
What should I watch out for at Roche Harbor Entrances?
Sandspits reach into the fairway from both sides of the main entrance, covered by 17 and 18 feet of water — enough for most boats, but worth knowing about.
What does Class 1 mean?
Class 1 is BoatRoutes' own 1-to-5 rating of how costly a timing or judgment mistake is here — it is not a NOAA scale. Class 1 means no meaningful timing constraint — ordinary care and a chart.

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.