Owners and operators of yachts, motorboats, rowboats, and other craft are cautioned that large deep-draft ocean-going vessels and other large commercial vessels ply the canal, and such owners and operators should be particularly careful to moor or anchor well away from the main ship channels, with moorings and lines which are sufficient and proper.
At Chesapeake City, berths, gasoline, diesel fuel, and some marine supplies are available. The principal wharves and slips have reported depths of 7 to 17 feet at their faces.
The anchorage basin at Chesapeake City and free wharfage facilities on the west side of the anchorage basin are available for small vessels only. These facilities are of limited capacity, and permission to occupy them for periods exceeding 24 hours must be obtained in advance from the dispatcher at Chesapeake City.
Navigation:
Click the “Map View” button above to see a chart of this harbor.
The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal is a sea-level waterway that extends from Delaware River at Reedy Point, DE, to Back Creek at Chesapeake City, MD, thence down Back Creek to Elk River and Chesapeake Bay.
Reedy Point, at Mile 0.7 on the north side of the Delaware entrance, is jettied and is marked by a light; the jetty on the south side is similarly marked.
The system of marking the channel with buoys and lights is from each entrance and reverses at Chesapeake City. Even numbers and flashing red lights are on the north side and odd numbers and flashing green lights are on the south side between the Delaware Bay entrance and Chesapeake City. Even numbers and flashing red lights are on the south side and odd numbers and flashing green lights are on the north side from Chesapeake City to the west end of the canal. Each bend along the canal is marked by an amber light.
In addition to the navigational aids, the north and south banks of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal are lighted by mercury vapor luminaries spaced 500 feet apart on poles at a height of 25 feet mean high water.
The canal is crossed by a vertical-lift bridge and four high-level fixed bridges. All bridge clearances mentioned are at the center of the canal. The fixed highway bridge at Mile 1.6 has a clearance of 136 feet. Two overhead power cables with a least clearance of 161 feet cross the canal at Mile 3.5. The fixed highway bridge at St. Georges, Mile 5.0, has a clearance of 137 feet. The fixed highway bridge at Mile 5.3, has a clearance of 142 feet.
The canal rail bridge across the canal at Canal Station, Mile 7.5, has a vertical-lift span with a clearance of 45 feet down and 138 feet up. The overhead pipeline 1 mile west of the bridge at Mile 8.5 has a reported clearance of 133 feet, and an overhead power cable about 150 yards westward has a clearance of 159 feet.
The fixed highway bridge just west of the town of Summit Bridge, at Mile 9.2, has a clearance of 138 feet.
The fixed highway bridge at Chesapeake City, Mile 13.0, has a clearance of 140 feet.
