Annapolis to Fort Lauderdale by boat: delivering the new Hunt 56 down the ICW and outside

In October I ran the brand new Hunt 56 from Annapolis to Fort Lauderdale by boat, a delivery for DiMillo's Yacht Sales ahead of the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. I was one of two captains aboard, with a mate. The route went down the Chesapeake Bay, into the Intracoastal Waterway at Norfolk, and then outside into the Atlantic from Morehead City, NC, for the rest of the way to Florida. Six days, October 12 to 17.

What follows is the day by day log, with NOAA distances and the weather each day pulled from NOAA buoy records afterward. The weather is the part worth reading. It decided where the boat ran.

Why the new Hunt 56 was headed to Fort Lauderdale

The Hunt 56, which Hunt Yachts lists as the Ocean 56 Flybridge, is a new model. It debuted at the 2026 Newport International Boat Show, September 17 to 20, and Lakeland Boating reported it as the first new model under DiMillo's ownership. DiMillo's Yacht Sales is based in Portland, Maine. In March 2026 it acquired key assets of Hunt Yachts from Hinckley, and the brand now goes by Hunt Yachts by DiMillo's.

After Newport, the next stop was the Fort Lauderdale boat show. FLIBS calls itself the largest in-water boat show in the world, and the 2026 show ran October 28 to November 1. DiMillo's showed the Hunt 56 Flybridge at Bahia Mar. The boat needed to be in Fort Lauderdale for staging before the show, so the delivery had a fixed end date and some room in front of it for weather.

A few numbers from the Hunt Yachts spec page shaped the plan. The boat is 63'1" overall with the swim platform, on a 58' hull, with a 15'7" beam and 4'2" of draft with the props. She displaces about 61,000 lb at half load and carries 780 gallons of fuel, with twin 725 hp Volvo Penta IPS 950s. The hull is the Hunt Deep-V, refined by Ray Hunt Design since 1961, with 20 degrees of deadrise at the transom. The builder estimates a fast cruise of about 27 knots from the flybridge and a range of 315 nautical miles at that speed.

The day by day log: Annapolis to Fort Lauderdale by boat

ICW mile markers are statute miles, counted south from mile 0 at Norfolk. Ocean and bay distances below are nautical miles from NOAA's Distances Between United States Ports. Route details come from NOAA Coast Pilot 4, chapter 12, and the observed weather comes from NOAA National Data Buoy Center station records.

Day 1, October 12: Annapolis to Coinjock, NC (inside)

Annapolis to Norfolk is about 140 nautical miles down the bay. The wind was out of the north, behind the boat. Thomas Point Light off Annapolis averaged about 13 knots from the north-northwest with gusts to 19. Farther down, the Kiptopeke station in the lower bay read 24 to 26 knots from the north and northwest through the morning, gusting to 31, before easing in the afternoon.

Outside was a different story. The offshore buoy off Virginia Beach showed seas of roughly 6 to 8 feet at about a 7 second period. The marine forecast for that day had a Small Craft Advisory on the Chesapeake with north winds 10 to 25 knots, and northwest 10 to 25 on the Atlantic with seas of 4 to 9 feet. With that forecast, inside was the call: the bay with a following wind, then the ICW.

At Norfolk the boat entered the ICW at mile 0. At Deep Creek, mile 7.2, the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal route (the Virginia Cut) splits from the Dismal Swamp route. The Hunt took the Virginia Cut. Great Bridge Lock sits at mile 11.5. The Army Corps' Norfolk District runs it, and it opens every hour on the hour. The lift is only about 2.7 feet, and per the Coast Pilot it's the only lock between Norfolk and Key West on this route. The day ended at Coinjock, mile 49.9, where Coinjock Marina bills itself as Mile Marker 50.

Day 2, October 13: Coinjock to Morehead City inside, then outside to Southport

This was the long day. South of Coinjock comes Albemarle Sound, wide open water that the Coast Pilot calls uncomfortable in heavy weather. On the 13th it was calm. The Duck and Oregon Inlet stations both averaged about 5 knots.

From Albemarle Sound we didn't take the ICW's Alligator River route. That route runs up the river, through the US 64 swing bridge at mile 84.2 and into the Alligator-Pungo Canal, about 21 miles of land cut where the Coast Pilot advises extreme caution and staying near midchannel because of snags and stumps. We ran the sounds instead: across Albemarle Sound, down past Roanoke Island and across Pamlico Sound to the Neuse River, then up Adams Creek and Core Creek past the Jarrett Bay Boatworks yard, where I used to build custom sportfish, and under the bridge into Morehead City. On a calm day that's open water a fast boat can keep moving on, with no swing bridge to wait on and no slow land cut.

The forecast had opened up, so the boat went out Beaufort Inlet at Morehead City for the 133 nautical mile run to Southport. Onslow Bay was 2 to 3 feet. Near Frying Pan Shoals the wind was down to about 2 knots with seas under 2 feet. Southport sits at ICW mile 308.9, and that's where the boat spent night two.

Day 3, October 14: Southport to St. Augustine (outside)

NOAA puts Southport to St. Augustine at 296 nautical miles. The wind was light and westerly. Frying Pan Shoals averaged about 8 knots from the west with 1.6 foot seas. The buoys off Edisto and at Grays Reef read 1.3 to 2.3 feet, and the St. Augustine buoy read 1.6 to 2 feet. A long day in 1 to 2 feet, run below fast cruise to stretch the range with no fuel stop.

Compare that to the inside route. St. Augustine's Bridge of Lions sits at ICW mile 777.9, which makes the inside run from Southport about 469 statute miles, or roughly 408 nautical miles. Outside saved over 100 nautical miles on that leg alone.

Day 4, October 15: St. Augustine to Palm Beach (outside)

St. Augustine to the Port of Palm Beach is 211 nautical miles. A light east to east-northeast breeze ran all day: about 5 knots at St. Augustine and an 8 knot average at the Canaveral buoy, gusting to 16, with seas of 2 to 2.6 feet there and at Fort Pierce. The Lake Worth station read about 10 knots from the east. The boat came in through Lake Worth Inlet, ICW mile 1018.4, and tied up at Sailfish Marina in Palm Beach Shores, just inside the inlet.

Day 5, October 16: a layover day in Palm Beach

We spent two nights at Sailfish Marina in Palm Beach Shores, waiting on our staging time for the show. For the record, the Lake Worth station averaged about 11 knots from the east-southeast that day, gusting to 21.

Day 6, October 17: Palm Beach to Fort Lauderdale

The last leg was the shortest: 46 nautical miles from the Port of Palm Beach to Port Everglades, run in the morning. Lake Worth averaged about 4 knots from the south-southeast, and the buoy off Hollywood Beach showed about a foot of sea. The boat arrived in Fort Lauderdale for show staging, and that ended the trip.

That evening, a potent cold front pushed through the Mid-Atlantic and eastern North Carolina, followed by a nor'easter that brought gusts up to 60 mph on the Outer Banks. That's the same stretch of coast the boat crossed on day 2.

The legs from Annapolis to Fort Lauderdale by boat at a glance

Distances from NOAA's port distance tables and Coast Pilot 4 ICW mileages. Weather from NOAA buoy and coastal station observations. Your actual track will run a little different.

What this intracoastal waterway route says about planning a boat delivery to Florida

Weather windows come first

Day 1 had a small craft advisory and 6 to 8 feet off Virginia Beach, so the boat stayed inside. By the 13th the ocean had laid down, and from Morehead City on the boat ran outside in 1 to 2.5 feet most of the way. The nor'easter hit North Carolina the evening the boat reached Fort Lauderdale. Pick each leg by its forecast, and leave slack in the schedule for a weather day.

Inside versus outside is a math problem too

Running the ICW from Morehead City (mile 204.3) to Port Everglades (mile 1066.3) is about 862 statute miles, or roughly 749 nautical miles. The outside legs this boat ran over the same stretch add up to 686. The inside route also has bridges to wait on and land cuts like the Alligator-Pungo Canal that call for slow running. In 1 to 2 feet, outside wins. In 6 to 8 feet, the ICW keeps the trip moving.

Lock and bridge timing set the pace inside

Great Bridge Lock opens on the hour, and swing bridges along the ICW have to open for a boat that can't clear them. Inside days get planned backward from those fixed points.

Fuel range means planned fuel stops

The Hunt 56 carries 780 gallons, and the builder rates its range at 315 nautical miles at fast cruise. Southport to St. Augustine is 296. A builder's range figure is an estimate, and real burn changes with load and sea state, so a leg that long needs either a planned fuel stop or a slower speed with a real reserve, decided before leaving the dock. On this trip we skipped the fuel stop and ran that leg below fast cruise. Slowing down cut the burn enough to make St. Augustine without stopping.

Hiring a captain for an ICW boat delivery

I'm a 100 Ton USCG Near Coastal Master, licensed since 2018, a CAPCA member, and based in Ocean City, MD. I run coastal deliveries along the East Coast between U.S. ports, from New York to Florida, and spent two years running 48 to 78 foot crewboats carrying up to 30 people plus cargo. More on that is on my captain services page.

For an owner, my rate is $750 per daylight running day. Travel days and weather days are $375. The owner pays fuel, dockage and travel at cost. For how those rates compare with other published day rates, see my guide to boat captain cost.

Dealers and brokers moving a boat to a show or a buyer can see how I handle those trips on the dealers and brokers page. If your boat starts in the Chesapeake and is headed north or out to sea instead of south, my Chesapeake to the ocean route guide covers the C&D Canal and the bay mouth.

The full delivery process is on the boat delivery page.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to run a boat from Annapolis to Fort Lauderdale?

This Hunt 56 delivery took six days, October 12 to 17, 2026: five running days plus a layover day in Palm Beach. A slower boat, an all-inside route or a bad stretch of weather adds days.

Is it better to run the ICW or go outside to Florida?

It depends on the forecast for each leg. This trip ran inside on a small craft advisory day with 6 to 8 foot seas off Virginia Beach, then went outside from Morehead City once the ocean settled to 1 to 3 feet. South of Southport, the outside route was also much shorter.

Do you have to go through any locks on the ICW from Norfolk to Florida?

On the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal route, Great Bridge Lock at ICW mile 11.5 is the only lock between Norfolk and Key West, per NOAA Coast Pilot 4. The Army Corps' Norfolk District opens it every hour on the hour.

When is a good time to move a boat south to Florida?

Plan around weather windows more than the calendar. This boat moved in mid October to make the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, October 28 to November 1, 2026. Fall fronts can close a window quickly: one hit the Mid-Atlantic and North Carolina the evening this trip ended.

How much does a delivery captain cost for an ICW boat delivery?

My rate is $750 per daylight running day, with travel days and weather days at $375. The owner pays fuel, dockage and travel at cost. The estimator on my boat delivery page gives a day count for your route.