Boca Raton Inlet: a narrow, unmarked cut through the beach
A narrow dredged cut 5 miles north of Hillsboro Inlet Entrance Light, crossed by the A1A bascule bridge. Coast Pilot 4 reports 1 to 3 feet at low tide, currents to 7 knots, and an unmarked channel whose bar shifts with the wind.
Channel depths come from dredged-area records and change between surveys. This is not a nautical chart – use official charts and the Local Notice to Mariners.
A northeast wind against the Stream builds the seas
NWS Melbourne publishes a nomogram of significant wave heights over the Gulf Stream by wind speed and direction, for an 18-hour wind duration. The office notes that boaters sometimes find the Coastal Waters Forecast underestimates wave heights in north to northeast winds.
Seas in the Stream · NWS Melbourne – Gulf Stream wave nomogram
What the Coast Pilot says
- How the Coast Pilot rates it Coast Pilot 4 calls Boca Raton Inlet "dangerous and particularly hazardous to all boats not designed for open seas", says users "should be experienced boatmen and should be extremely knowledgeable of the area", and states plainly: "The channel is unmarked."
- The entrance A narrow dredged cut through the beach 5 miles northward of Hillsboro Inlet Entrance Light, its mouth protected by short jetties marked by private lights. Coast Pilot 4 notes "the bar channel shifts with the winds" and that the inlet interior is dredged continuously.
- Depth and shoaling Coast Pilot 4 reports shoaling 30 yards outside the inlet and inside it, with "depth at low tide varies from 1 to 3 feet". A sandbar protrudes out of water inside the inlet on the north side, another extends underwater to within 30 feet of the south jetty, and "shoaling and sandbars are continually shifting".
- Closure Coast Pilot 4 records a report that "increased shoaling may be expected and that the inlet may occasionally be closed by severe weather".
- Current and sea state Tidal currents through the narrow channel reach a reported velocity of 7 knots. Except during a flat calm, breaking and confused seas exist at the mouth, extending 200 feet inside it; conditions are more hazardous during winter, and strong easterly winds are particularly strong November through May.
- The A1A bridge Coast Pilot 4 gives the A1A highway bridge a 45-foot bascule span with "a clearance of 23 feet at the center".
- Who to ask For local existing conditions Coast Pilot 4 gives Fort Lauderdale Coast Guard Station, telephone 954-927-1611.
Questions sailors ask
How deep is Boca Raton Inlet?
Coast Pilot 4 reports that depth at low tide varies from 1 to 3 feet, with shoaling 30 yards outside the inlet and inside it. A sandbar protrudes out of water on the north side, another extends underwater to within 30 feet of the south jetty, and shoaling and sandbars are continually shifting. Depths change; this page is not a chart.
Is Boca Raton Inlet marked?
Coast Pilot 4 states plainly: "The channel is unmarked." The mouth of the inlet is protected by short jetties marked by private lights, the bar channel shifts with the winds, and the inlet interior is dredged continuously.
How high is the Boca Raton Inlet bridge?
Coast Pilot 4 gives the Highway A1A bridge a 45-foot bascule span with a clearance of 23 feet at the center.
How strong is the current at Boca Raton Inlet?
Tidal currents through the narrow channel reach a reported velocity of 7 knots. Except during a flat calm, breaking and confused seas exist at the mouth and extend 200 feet inside it; Coast Pilot 4 says conditions are more hazardous during winter, and easterly winds are particularly strong from November through May.
Sources & checks
- NOAA Coast Pilot 4, ch. 10 (2026) · 18 Oct 2026
- NOAA CO-OPS station 8722816 Boca Raton – tidal datums · 22 Oct 2026
- NWS Melbourne – Gulf Stream wave nomogram · 22 Oct 2026