Getting a powerboat from the Chesapeake Bay to Delaware Bay comes down to one big choice. You either go north, through the Chesapeake and Delaware (C&D) Canal and down Delaware Bay, or you go south and out past Cape Charles and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel into the Atlantic. Which one makes sense depends on where the boat starts and what the wind is doing that week.
Below, each route gets NOAA distances and the spots that deserve respect, plus where boats commonly stop for fuel. That includes the Cape May Canal versus running around Cape May Point, and the run into Ocean City, MD.
This is planning information, not a substitute for the chart. Channels shoal and buoys move. Before any trip, check the current NOAA chart, the Coast Guard's Local Notices to Mariners, NOAA's current predictions and the marine forecast.
Chesapeake Bay to Delaware Bay by boat: route options at a glance
Every distance below comes from NOAA's Distances Between United States Ports, in nautical miles. For two-leg trips I added the table figures. Your actual track will run a little different.
| Route | Approx. nm | Main things to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Annapolis to Lewes (Harbor of Refuge) via the C&D Canal | 117 (65 + 52) | Canal current and ship traffic, then Delaware Bay chop when wind runs against tide |
| Annapolis to Cape May Harbor via the C&D and Cape May canals | 117 (65 + 52) | Same as above, plus 55 foot fixed bridges and ferry traffic at the canal's west end |
| Annapolis to Ocean City, MD via the C&D Canal and Delaware Bay | 148 (65 + 83) | Everything above, then an ocean leg and the Ocean City Inlet |
| Annapolis to Ocean City, MD out the bay mouth | 229 (129 + 100) | Long run down the bay, then a long ocean leg |
| Cape Charles to Ocean City, MD outside | 121 (21 + 100) | Ocean the whole way north, then the inlet |
| Cape May Harbor to Atlantic City, outside | 37 | Ocean conditions; the inside NJ ICW is the alternative, with shoaling and drawbridges |
Up the bay and through the C&D Canal
The C&D Canal is a sea-level cut, no locks, joining the upper Chesapeake to the Delaware River at Reedy Point. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers describes it as 14 miles long. Its channel is 35 feet deep and 450 feet wide. The Corps' Philadelphia District maintains the canal along with the canal's high bridges. From Annapolis it's 65 nautical miles to the canal's east entrance, and from Baltimore it's 62.
C&D Canal current
The current is the first thing to plan around. NOAA Coast Pilot 3, chapter 7 lists about 2.6 knots on the flood and 2.1 knots on the ebb at the Reedy Point bridge, and about 2 knots at Chesapeake City. The flood sets east and the ebb sets west. Storms can push it past 3 knots. The town of Chesapeake City adds that the strongest current comes about two and a half hours after low or high tide there, not at the tide change itself.
A fast boat barely notices 2 knots. A slow one running against it will spend a lot longer in the canal.
Ships, tugs and the rules
The canal regulations reprinted in the Coast Pilot set the order. Small pleasure craft give way to deeper draft vessels. A vessel running with the current has the right of way over one running against it. Nobody stops or anchors in the ship channel. Traffic lights at Reedy Point and Old Town Point Wharf show flashing green when the canal is open and flashing red when it's closed. Chesapeake City recommends every vessel keep a radio watch on VHF 13.
The junction off Reedy Point deserves extra care. Coast Pilot chapter 6 notes that ships and tug and barge units make a sharp turn into and out of the canal there, with strong cross currents, and it advises recreational boats to stay outside the main channels when they can.
Stops along the canal
- Chesapeake City. The Coast Pilot lists berths and fuel here, gasoline and diesel both. There's an anchorage basin at canal Mile 12.8, with an entrance that shoals, and free town docks from April to October for up to 24 hours. Schaefer's Canal House takes transients right on the canal and asks boats to hail on VHF 16 or 68 about half a mile out.
- Summit North Marina. At Mile 7.5 on the north side. Summit North lists gas and diesel pumps and transient slips.
Delaware Bay by boat: why the forecast matters more than the miles
From the canal's east entrance, NOAA puts the Harbor of Refuge off Lewes at 52 nautical miles and the west entrance of the Cape May Canal at 48. Short on paper. The bay is what makes it a real day.
Coast Pilot 3 calls Delaware Bay "a large, open bay that is subject to confusing, and sometimes dangerous, sea and swell conditions." It points to the long fetch and strong currents over numerous shoals, and notes there are very few harbors of refuge between the entrance and the canal. Recreational boats are asked to stay outside the main shipping channel.
The chop builds fastest when wind and tidal current run against each other. Per the Coast Pilot, strong northwesterlies are common from November through March. In summer the sea breeze adds to the prevailing southerlies, and afternoon winds can reach 15 to 25 knots, a good reason to cross early.
Pro tip: Look at the current predictions for the bay next to the wind forecast, not just the tide table. A moderate breeze against a full ebb can make a worse ride than a stronger breeze running with it.
Into Lewes
Roosevelt Inlet, 3 miles west of Cape Henlopen, is the bay entrance to Lewes and the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal. Coast Pilot chapter 8 notes its jetties are awash at low water. Fuel and berths are available near the first and second bridges at Lewes, according to the same chapter.
Cape May Canal or around Cape May Point
Boats headed for Cape May or the Jersey shore pick one of these two ways out of Delaware Bay.
The Cape May Canal
The canal enters Delaware Bay between stone jetties 2 miles north of Cape May Light, and from its west entrance it's 4 nautical miles to Cape May Harbor. Coast Pilot chapter 5 gives the details that matter for a powerboat:
- Two fixed bridges, Route 109 and Route 162, each with 55 feet of vertical clearance at mean high water. A railroad swing bridge has 4 feet when closed, and overhead cables cross at 60 and 75 feet.
- A recommended speed limit of 5 knots, with extra care near the bridges.
- Current of about 1.9 knots at the east end and 0.9 knot at the west end.
- The Cape May to Lewes ferry terminal sits near the west end. Don't meet or overtake a ferry in the entrance, and stand clear of the shoaling reported opposite the ferry berths.
The canal isn't a free pass in bad weather. The Coast Pilot says choppy seas form on Delaware Bay when wind and current oppose each other, "especially hazardous at the entrance to Cape May Canal," and that strong northwesterlies can build large waves inside the canal.
Around Cape May Point
Boats that can't clear 55 feet, or that would rather stay in open water, go around the point. Coast Pilot chapter 6 describes Cape May Channel, a mile southwest of the cape, as unmarked with 2 to 4 feet on either side, and says local knowledge is required. Many tide rips form near Prissy Wicks Shoal, which has as little as 2 feet. Overfalls Shoal, with 8 feet, lies about 4 miles southwest of Cape May Light. Going around means giving all of that a wide berth, which adds distance. Lay it out on the current chart rather than trusting a rule of thumb.
North from Cape May
From Cape May Harbor it's 37 nautical miles outside to Atlantic City. The inside option is the New Jersey Intracoastal Waterway route, 118 statute miles from Delaware Bay to Manasquan Inlet. The Coast Pilot says its channel is dredged to 6 feet, but continuous shoaling can leave 3 feet or less in places, especially near the ocean inlets, and there are drawbridges along the way.
Chesapeake to Ocean City by boat: canal or bay mouth
For Ocean City, MD, the starting point decides the route. From Annapolis, NOAA's tables give about 148 nautical miles by way of the C&D Canal and Delaware Bay (65 to the canal, then 83 to Ocean City). Going out the mouth of the bay is about 229 (129 to the bay entrance, then 100 up the coast). From Cape Charles, near the bottom of the bay, it flips: about 121 out the mouth versus about 252 through the canal.
The canal route ends with a 31 nautical mile ocean leg from the Harbor of Refuge to Ocean City. The bay mouth route means crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel through one of its marked channels and then a long ocean leg up the Virginia coast. The bays behind Assateague Island are no shortcut: the Coast Pilot calls that inside route one for small boats, with 4 to 7 feet along the western side of Chincoteague Bay.
Ocean City Inlet considerations
Coast Pilot chapter 8 says the Ocean City Inlet "is subject to continual change." A strong ebb runs through the inlet. The north jetty and the outer end of the south jetty are covered at high water, so the lighted buoys are the guide. Inside, the U.S. Route 50 bascule bridge, 0.9 mile above the jetties, has 18 feet of clearance closed.
An onshore wind against that strong ebb is the combination to avoid. Plan the arrival for daylight and follow the buoys that are actually there, not an old track on the plotter. The latest Local Notice to Mariners will flag aids that have moved. If weather is the reason the boat is moving in the first place, my Ocean City storm prep guide covers the timing.
How I plan these runs as a delivery captain
I'm a 100 Ton USCG Near Coastal Master, licensed since 2018, a CAPCA member, and based in Ocean City (more on my captain services page). I spent two years running 48 to 78 foot crewboats. My coastal deliveries have run between New York and North Carolina, and in October 2026 I was one of two captains, with a mate, on a Hunt Ocean 56 from Annapolis to Fort Lauderdale for the boat show, mixing ICW and outside legs.
On a Chesapeake to Delaware Bay or Ocean City delivery, I run in daylight and pick inside or outside by the forecast, not by the shorter line on the chart. The delivery estimator divides distance by 85% of your cruise speed and counts 8 hours of daylight running per day. At a 25 knot cruise, the 148 nautical mile canal route to Ocean City from Annapolis is about 7 hours, one running day. The 229 nautical mile bay mouth route is closer to 11 hours, which makes it two.
My rate is $750 per daylight running day. Travel days and weather days are $375. The owner pays fuel, dockage, my travel and meals on multi-day runs, all at cost. For how those rates sit against other published day rates, see my guide to boat captain cost. If the bay is kicking up, the boat waits for a better window, and I'll keep you posted on the new plan.
Moving a boat between the Chesapeake and the ocean?
Pick your two ports and cruise speed in the estimator for a day count and captain cost, or call me to talk through the route.
The full delivery process is on the boat delivery page.
Frequently asked questions
How far is it from the Chesapeake Bay to Delaware Bay by boat?
Annapolis is 65 nautical miles from the C&D Canal's east entrance, per NOAA. From there it's 52 more to Lewes or to Cape May Harbor.
How strong is the current in the C&D Canal?
About 2.6 knots on the flood and 2.1 on the ebb at Reedy Point, per Coast Pilot 3, and more in storms. Check NOAA's predictions for your day.
What is the bridge clearance on the Cape May Canal?
Its two fixed bridges each have 55 feet at mean high water, per Coast Pilot 3. Confirm on the current chart.
Is it shorter to reach Ocean City, MD through the C&D Canal or out the bay mouth?
From Annapolis, the canal (about 148 nm) beats the mouth (about 229). From Cape Charles, the mouth wins.
Do recreational boats have to give way to ships in the C&D Canal?
Yes. Small pleasure craft give way to deeper draft vessels, and nobody stops or anchors in the ship channel. Keep a watch on VHF 13.
Sources
- NOAA, Distances Between United States Ports (Tables 7, 8 and 10)
- NOAA, U.S. Coast Pilot 3, chapters 4 through 8
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia District: C&D Canal
- Town of Chesapeake City, boater information