Boating, Fishing, and Travel Information for Wilmington, DE

Vessels must not anchor in Christina River channel within the city limits of Wilmington or tieup at any wharf more than two abreast without permission of the harbor commissioners.
Repairs can be made to light-draft vessels and small craft at the boatyards near the second bridge on Christina River; largest marine railway, 110 feet. Small-craft repairs can also be made at a boatyard above the second bridge on Brandywine Creek.
Wilmington is a customs port of entry.
Navigation:
Click the “Map View” button above to see a chart of this harbor.
The Christina River, Mile 61.5W, is the approach to the city of Wilmington and to the towns of Newport and Christiana.
A Federal project provides for a 35-foot channel from Delaware River to Lobdell Canal and 38 feet in a turning basin opposite the Wilmington Marine Terminal. The channel is subject to frequent shoaling. A steel sheet-pile jetty, 0.4 mile long and marked at its outer end by a light, is on the south side of the entrance. The channel is marked by a 293° lighted range and by a lighted buoy on the north side of the entrance.
Above Lobdell Canal, the midchannel controlling depth in Christina River, in 2004, was 10.1 feet to the Market Street bascule bridge, about 2.8 miles above the mouth, thence in 1960, 5.5 feet to the bascule bridge at Newport. Above this point local knowledge is necessary to carry the best water.
There are no bridges or overhead power cables over the deepwater section of Christina River. From Lobdell Canal to just above the bridge at Newport, 6.8 miles above the mouth, the least clearance of drawbridges is 2 feet and fixed bridges, 22 feet. In 2008, it was reported that the Christina River swing bridge at mile 5.4 was in ruins; caution is advised. The least clearance of overhead power cables is 42 feet.
The speed of vessels in Christina River is limited to 8 miles per hour.
Lobdell Canal, on the south side of Christina River 0.9 mile above the mouth, is not used.
Brandywine Creek, on the northeast side of Christina River 1.6 miles above the mouth, has depths of about 4 feet to the railroad bridge 1 mile above its mouth. The channel is rocky above the railroad bridge, but depths of 1 to 2 feet can be carried 0.7 mile to Market Street bridge, above which there are rapids. The river is used mostly for anchorage and storage of pleasure boats.
An overhead power cable about 0.1 mile above the mouth has a clearance of 59 feet.
The railroad bridge about 1 mile above the mouth of Brandywine Creek and the highway bridges above it have fixed spans with a minimum width of 40 feet and a clearance of 10 feet. The overhead power cable 300 yards above the railroad bridge has a clearance of 34 feet.
Wilmington, on the north side of Christina River 2.5 miles above the mouth, has large manufacturing interests. Both sides of the river at the city are lined with wharves which support a large traffic in barges.