Channel Islands Harbor

Channel Islands Harbor is a combined shore-protection project and small craft harbor located at the southern end of the Santa Barbara Channel in Oxnard, California. It is the fifth largest harbor for small-craft recreation in the state of California 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 horse-shoe shaped harbor contains 166acre of water surrounded by 126acre of land and supports more than 2,500 vessels, four yacht clubs, and nine full-service marinas. It is a point of departure for the five Channel Islands, the closest of which is Anacapa Island. The Ventura County Maritime Museum is located within the harbor and offers a regularly rotating exhibit, maritime-themed art, and model ships. Water taxis are available to drop diners and shoppers at various docks within the harbor. Every three years the harbor is host to the Channel Islands Tall Ships Festival which includes between two and five large sailing vessels and draws thousands of visitors.HistoryThe US Army Corps of Engineers formed the harbor in 1960 by scooping out sand dunes and wetlands and depositing the surplus sand at the nearby beaches of Port Hueneme. The sand trap at the harbor entrance was designed to retain sand that otherwise might be diverted into the ocean due to the impacts of the construction of the Port of Hueneme. The sand was to be regularly dredged and placed on Hueneme Beach which suffers erosion due to the port blocking the littoral drift of sand.