Channel Islands Harbor

Channel Islands Harbor
Scene from commercial fishing boat unloading pier facing southeast with hotel in background
Map
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Location
CountryUnited States
LocationOxnard, California
Coordinates34°10′12″N 119°13′30″W / 34.17°N 119.225°W / 34.17; -119.225
Details
Opened1960; 64 years ago (1960)
Owned byCounty of Ventura[1]
Type of harbourArtificial
Size of harbour166 acres (67 ha)
Land area126 acres (51 ha)
No. of berths2,150
Statistics
Website
channelislandsharbor.org

Channel Islands Harbor is a small craft harbor[2] and shore-protection project[3] in Oxnard, California at the southern end of the Santa Barbara Channel. It is the fifth largest harbor for small-craft recreation in the state of California[4] and is a waterfront resort, recreation, and dining marketplace. Recreational activities include diving, boat charters, sea kayaking, sportfishing, and whale watching (gray whales January through early April; blue and humpback whales July to September).

The horseshoe shaped harbor contains 166 acres (0.67 km2) of water surrounded by 126 acres (0.51 km2) of land[5] and supports more than 2,500 vessels,[6] four yacht clubs, and nine full-service marinas.[7] The Channel Islands are a popular destination.[4] Island Packers operates a ferry service out of the harbor that accesses Anacapa Island. The Ventura County Maritime Museum has a regularly rotating exhibit, maritime-themed art, and model ships. Every three years the harbor is host to the Channel Islands Tall Ships Festival[8] which includes between two and five large sailing vessels and draws thousands of visitors.[6]

  1. ^ Channel Islands Harbor Website "About Us/Harbor Information" Accessed 24 Dec 2013
  2. ^ United States Army Corps of Engineers, South Pacific Division (1973). Water resources development by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in California. University of California Libraries. p. 89. ISBN 978-1-125-52499-2.
  3. ^ Herron, William J.; Harris, Robert L. (1966) LITTORAL BYPASSING AND BEACH RESTORATION IN THE VICINITY OF PORT HUENEME CALIFORNIA Proceedings of 10th Conference on Coastal Engineering, Tokyo, Japan
  4. ^ a b Travis, William, ed. (2006). Fodor's Southern California (Second ed.). New York: Random House. p. 385. ISBN 978-1-4000-1603-7.
  5. ^ Smith, Patricia (1998). "Channel Islands Harbor Master Plan" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 3, 2011. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
  6. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference r1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Harris, Elanor; Lichtig, Claudia Harris (2006). Quick escapes Los Angeles: 20 weekend getaways from the metro area (7th ed.). Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot Press. pp. 124. ISBN 978-0-7627-4219-6.
  8. ^ "Tall Ships Relocate to Channel Islands Harbor Through Feb. 15th". Ventura Harbor Village. Retrieved December 29, 2022.