The habor entrance is from the East between two jetties that are 275 yards apart and marked by lights with the fog horn and radio beacon on the west jetty. The main channel is 20 feet deep and runs from the entrance to the turning basin. It is made up of the Entrance Channel, the Corona Del Mar Bend, the Balboa Reach, the Harbor Island Reach and the Lido Isle Reach. The Balboa Island North Channel should be a depth of 10 feet. There is a sunken wreck marked by a lighted buoy 75 feet from shore on the north side of the bend between buoys 6 and 8.
Sandbars do build up, so stay to midchannel.
Newport Harbor could also be known as Anchorage except that Alaska took the name first. Be aware of your surroundings, especially in limited visibility weather as there are hundreds of boats on anchorage and maintain the 5 mph limit. Monitors channels 12 and 16 and is located on the east side of the harbor about a mile from the entrance. They have boats that patrol the harbor. Charts are available everywhere and you should use them.