Wasp Passage 2
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Wasp Passage runs between Crane Island and the north shore of Shaw Island, connecting San Juan Channel to West Sound. It's one of several channels through the Wasp Islands group, though boats more often use North Pass or Pole Pass instead.

Timing

The channels through the Wasp Islands run enough current that local knowledge is called for before attempting any of them. A NOAA station sits nearby, but no specific depth bin has a published prediction yet, so there's no current-speed number for this page — go on a gentle stage of the tide.

Coast Pilot, In Plain Words

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

Read the official text

Turn Island to Gull Rock

Wasp Islands are in the west approach to West Sound between Neck Point, the northwest tip of Shaw Island, and Steep Point, the southwest extremity of Orcas Island. Several narrow channels lead between the islands; the channels in general use are the North and Pole Passes, close under the Orcas Island shore. The tidal currents have considerable velocity in the channels, which should be attempted only by vessels with local knowledge.

Wasp Passage leads from San Juan Channel to West Sound and separates Crane Island from the north shore of Shaw Island. A light is on the rock 300 yards east of Bell Island at the east end of the pass and on Cliff Island and Shirt Tail Reef, at the west end of the pass.

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

Local Knowledge

  • Watch out

    Lights mark the edges at both ends of the pass: a rock east of Bell Island on the San Juan Channel side, and Cliff Island and Shirt Tail Reef on the West Sound side. Give both a wide berth.

  • Timing

    The channels through the Wasp Islands run enough current that local knowledge is called for before attempting any of them. A NOAA station sits nearby, but no specific depth bin has a published prediction yet, so there's no current-speed number for this page — go on a gentle stage of the tide.

  • Tip

    Most boats headed between Friday Harbor and Deer Harbor take North Pass or Pole Pass instead of Wasp Passage. If you do take Wasp Passage, treat it the same way — moderate tide stage, sharp lookout, mid-channel.

Plan a Trip Through Wasp 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 Wasp Passage

Port of Friday Harbor Marina → Wasp Passage · 5.5 nm · ~0h 41m at · from the south

Questions

What is Wasp Passage?
Wasp Passage runs between Crane Island and the north shore of Shaw Island, connecting San Juan Channel to West Sound. It's one of several channels through the Wasp Islands group, though boats more often use North Pass or Pole Pass instead.
When is the best time to go through Wasp Passage?
The channels through the Wasp Islands run enough current that local knowledge is called for before attempting any of them. A NOAA station sits nearby, but no specific depth bin has a published prediction yet, so there's no current-speed number for this page — go on a gentle stage of the tide.
What should I watch out for at Wasp Passage?
Lights mark the edges at both ends of the pass: a rock east of Bell Island on the San Juan Channel side, and Cliff Island and Shirt Tail Reef on the West Sound side. Give both a wide berth.
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.