Crossing Inlets and Bars Safely: Tide Timing, Coast Guard Bar Restrictions and When Not to Go

Before the trip, check NOAA tide and current predictions for the inlet (our tides and currents guide shows how). Note when the ebb is strongest and when the current turns. As a general pattern, plan to cross near slack water or on the flood, and avoid the strongest ebb, especially if there's any ground swell. Also check whether it's a spring tide period (new or full moon); NOAA notes currents run stronger then.

Most trouble happens coming home: tired crew, a building afternoon sea breeze, and an ebb that started while you were fishing. Work out when the next ebb runs and plan to be back inside before it peaks, or to wait offshore until it eases. Put your planned crossing times on your float plan.

Read the NWS coastal waters forecast for wind, wave height and period, and any Small Craft Advisory. Long-period swell can stack up and break at inlets even when the forecast for open water looks fine. If a front is due or the swell is building through the day, the inlet will likely be worse on your return than when you left.

On the Pacific Northwest, the Coast Guard can restrict or close bars (33 CFR 165.1325 lists the regulated bars in Oregon and Washington):

• A bar restriction bans recreational and uninspected passenger boats from crossing (sometimes only boats under a set length). The Captain of the Port considers the size and type of boat, sea state, wind, wave period and tidal current.
• A bar closure bans all vessels, when conditions exceed what Coast Guard rescue boats can handle.
• The Coast Guard announces restrictions and closures by Broadcast Notice to Mariners on VHF channels 16 and 22A, and crews may be on scene to warn boaters.
• The National Weather Service Portland "Local Bar Observations" page posts Coast Guard bar conditions and lists a phone number for the latest report.
• Rough bar signs: the Coast Guard's guide to hazardous bars (2015 edition) describes diamond-shaped white signs with an orange border reading "ROUGH BAR" at several Oregon and Washington bars, with two alternating flashing yellow lights that generally come on when seas exceed 4 feet; at some bars, flashing lights mean a restriction is in effect. The same guide warns that lights being off is no guarantee the bar is safe.
• A rule of thumb from the same regulation: 33 CFR 165.1325 defines an "unsafe condition" for these bars as waves at or above boat length ÷ 10 + freeboard (in feet). Example: a 20-foot boat with 2 feet of freeboard (measured at the lowest point of the sides) hits that line at 4-foot waves. It's a legal threshold for Coast Guard decisions on those bars, not a promise of safety below it, but it's a sobering number to work out for your own boat anywhere.

Elsewhere, there's no single national bar-report system. Call or radio the local Coast Guard station, TowBoatUS or Sea Tow, the harbormaster or a local charter captain. A Coast Guard boarding officer can also order a boat back to the dock if its voyage is especially hazardous (33 CFR Part 177).

Inlets shift. Sandbars move after every storm, and the buoys may be moved to follow the channel. Ask the local Coast Guard station, the marina, a towing captain or charter skippers which side of the channel is deep, where it breaks first, and any recent changes. Check that your chart is current and read the Local Notice to Mariners for the area (our buoys guide covers both).

Before you reach the bar:

• Everyone puts on a life jacket, properly fastened. On the regulated Oregon and Washington bars, federal rules require life jackets on everyone in open areas when the Coast Guard is towing or escorting your boat across, and many skippers make it a rule every crossing.
• Everyone sits low, holds on, and stays off the bow
• Close hatches and secure loose gear and coolers
• Kids stay inside the cabin or center console with an adult, in their own life jackets
• Turn the VHF to channel 16, and note your position

Bill Pike's advice: before entering, stand off and watch the wave pattern for a while. From outside the break:

• Count the sets: waves often come in groups with calmer gaps between them
• Watch where the waves break; white water marks the shallow spots
• Look for the calmest, deepest line through the channel
• Watch other boats of your size: do they make it look easy or are they struggling?

If waves are breaking all the way across the channel, don't try it. Go to another inlet or wait.

Cross-currents in inlets can push you toward jetties, rocks or shoals. Pick a range ahead (two fixed objects lined up, or the buoys) and watch whether you're sliding sideways; correct early. Jetty ends are especially dangerous because waves wrap around them and reflect off the rocks. Stay in the marked channel.

Crossing from the ocean is the riskier direction; following seas can lift the stern, push the bow down and swing the boat sideways (a broach). Pike describes the technique: ride the back of a wave and don't pass it until it breaks ahead of you. In practice:

• Time your run for the gap after a set
• Match the speed of the wave you're following, staying on its back, not on the face of the one ahead
• Use power precisely, neither too fast nor too slow; keep enough in reserve to escape a wave building behind you
• Keep the stern square to the waves

Once you commit to a rough inlet, Pike notes, there's usually no turning back, so make the decision before you enter.

Going out, Neale's advice is simple: if the inlet is bad and you're inside, stay there. If you do go:

• Wait for a lull between sets
• Take each wave on the bow at a slight angle, slowing as you climb so you don't launch off the top
• Don't let the boat get turned sideways to breaking waves

• Engine dies in the inlet: put out the anchor if it will hold you clear of the break, and call for help on VHF 16
• Boat swamped or capsized: stay with the boat, keep life jackets on, call Mayday if you can. Our capsize guide covers what to do.
• Someone overboard: keep them in sight, throw flotation, and call Mayday; don't drive into breaking surf after them

Don't cross, or wait, when:

• Waves are breaking across the channel
• The Coast Guard has restricted or closed the bar, or warns against it
• A strong ebb is running against swell or onshore wind
• Fog, darkness or heavy rain hides the waves and markers (our fog and night guides explain why)
• Your boat is low on fuel or has an engine problem
• You're tired, or the crew is seasick or inexperienced

Options: wait for slack or the flood, use a bigger, deeper inlet nearby, or stay put in a protected harbor. Waiting a few hours is always cheaper than a rescue.