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Hurricane Pass | water, strait / channel / passage / narrows

USA / Florida / Dunedin /
 water, strait / channel / passage / narrows
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Hurricane Pass - Separates Honeymoon Island to the north and Caladesi Island to the south.

The pass marked, but the markers are often inaccurate. Boaters without local knowledge should read the tint of the water to avoid the shoals, which move north to south seasonally according to the strength of the long shore current.

Entering from seaward with a large draft requires skill, but once inside, a wide and deep natural channel can be found. After turning northeast inside the bight, a dogleg to starboard along the causeway may pose another problem with shoaling. If you use wide turns, as when navigating river bends, you may find passage easier. The causeway is busy with activity, including a public beach, so watch for the occasional personal watercraft or kayak.

The pass has slowly been narrowing since the mid 2000's as Caladesi Island has been extending northward. Normally erosion would split up the northern end of the island from the rest and currents would wash the breakaway island under but Caledesi Island has also been growing wider at it's northern end making this process less likely to repeat.

The naturally cut channel is very popular among anglers.
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   28°3'9"N   82°49'8"W

Comments

  • Dart (guest)
    This is called "Hurricane Pass" because up until the 1920s, Honeymoon Island and Caladesi Island were connected, they were one great big island. Then a hurricane came through and actually cut this separation as part of the storm damage. *Do Not* swim here! While the islands are close enough that a moderately good swimmer should be able to make the passage in thirty or fourty minutes at the outside, the current in the pass is vicious, and several people drown every year from getting caught in it. Also, there's a lot of boat traffic, and it isn't uncommon for some idiot trying to swim the channel to get hit by a boat and drown.
  • ed (guest)
    10 minute swim. every few years 1 might drown. boat traffic is at times bad but not during the week.
  • Kelly Ziolkowski
    I live here and kayak to honeymoon and caladesi all the time. Kayaking in the pass is a challenge. When the tide is low, the current in the pass will suck you out into the gulf at speeds of 20 mph. I've seen people get sucked into the deadly current twice now, usually a swimmer from honeymoon who was unaware. It was horrific to see how fast the channel current carried them out to sea. They were rescued by boaters both times I witnessed it, but was really scary. Fishing honeymoon pass is very popular and blue crab is abundant there. I also see dolphins constantly there and they often swim beside my kayak.
  • TransplantNow (guest)
    I lived there in the 80's and News 10 shot an overhead view of how many sharks are also located in that same channel
  • Melbourne, Fl (guest)
    My wife, her two sisters and I were anchored on a sandbar in this pass yesterday. We thought Caladesi island looked close and it was shallow where we were at on the sandbar so we incorrectly assumed we could just walk to Caladesi. Halfway there, the water got to about 7-8 feet deep and the current got perilous. If there were not kayakers on shore to assist us with PFDs, we may have been victims of this pass. I think rental boat companies should not recommend that sandbar area without also warning about the current.
  • Steve (guest)
    My buddy and I made this swim because it was "close" when we were 14. (We were on the HS swim team) Successfully made it, would NOT recommend anybody doing it. It was quite difficult. Love fishing here!
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This article was last modified 10 years ago