Fun Ride on the Chetco River Bar

This looks like more fun than an amusement park ride! 

 

     Chetco Bay is one of the more safer bays on the Oregon's southern Pacific coast. The Chetco Bar is the area where the deep waters of the Pacific Ocean meet with the shallower waters near the mouth of the river. Most accidents and deaths that occur on coastal bars are from capsizing.
    The Bar may be closed to recreational boats when conditions are hazardous. Failure to comply with the closure may result in voyage termination, and civil and/or criminal penalties. The regulations are enforced by Coast Guard boarding teams. 
    Boats are more likely to capsize when crossing the bar from the ocean because the seas are on the stern and the boater may have less control over the vessel. There are roughly four tides each day in the Pacific Northwest and tidal currents may gain tremendous velocity making it extremely dangerous to get caught on the bar during strong ebb current. Even on days that are relatively calm, fast moving ebb can create bar conditions that are too rough for small craft. The Coast Guard regulates the boat traffic and failing to comply with posted bar restrictions may result in a maximum civil penalty of $25,000.00.