Port Hueneme

Port Hueneme, in Ventura County on the Santa Barbara Channel, is a working commercial and military port rather than a recreational harbor. The Oxnard Harbor District, created in 1937 as an independent special district, owns and runs the commercial side. It handles automobiles, fresh produce and frozen goods, and the port ranks among the top ten U.S. ports for autos and fresh produce. The other part of the harbor is Naval Base Ventura County, home of the Navy Construction Battalion (Seabees). Army Corps of Engineers materials note the harbor offers no public facilities for small boating and leisure craft, and the California boating facilities database lists only the port district itself.

What recreational boaters can and cannot do

You cannot use Port Hueneme Harbor as a place to launch, dock, anchor or fuel a pleasure boat. The waters inside the entrance are a federal restricted area: no vessel or person may enter unless permission is obtained in advance from the Commanding Officer of Naval Base Ventura County. Every vessel must also obtain clearance from "Control 1" on VHF channel 06 before crossing the COLREGS demarcation line between the two entrance jetties. A boat with no radio must call (805) 982-3938 in advance. Practically, pleasure boaters should treat the harbor as closed unless they have Navy approval, and they should stay clear of the entrance and of large ships maneuvering there.

The entrance

The entrance is formed by two jetties. The line between their seaward ends is about 1,500 feet long, with the northwestern jetty end at 34 deg 8 min 37.0 sec N, 119 deg 12 min 58.8 sec W and the southeastern one at 34 deg 8 min 34.8 sec N, 119 deg 12 min 43.2 sec W. The commercial entrance channel is 40 feet deep with a 1,200-foot turning basin, and it serves ships up to about 800 feet long. Keep out of the channel when ships are moving.

Hueneme Beach and the pier

The public side of Port Hueneme is on the beach. Port Hueneme Pier extends about 1,250 feet into the ocean and ends in an hourglass-shaped head built in 1999. The pier is open daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. and is popular with anglers and sunset watchers. The city's Hueneme Beach Park and Waterfront Promenade run along the shore. For slips, launch ramps, fuel and guest docks, boaters go to neighboring Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard or Ventura Harbor.