2008 REED’s East Coast Edition - Pilot Notes
Chesapeake Bay Pilot Notes
Coastal Summary 115 Point Lookout to Patuxent River 124
Bay Approaches 116 Point Lookout (Potomac River) to Patuxent
Thimble Shoal Channel 117
River 125
Chesapeake Channel 117
Solomons, MD 125
t
North Channel 117
Patuxent River to Chesapeake Bay Bridge 125
ilo
Thimble Shoal Channel 118
Oxford, MD 127
P
Little Creek, VA 118
St. Michaels, MD 127
Hampton, VA 118
Annapolis, MD 127
Norfolk and Portsmouth, VA 118
Chesapeake Bay Bridge to Chesapeake &
Chesapeake Channel to Wolf Trap 122
Delaware Canal 132
Wolf Trap to Smith Point (Potomac River) 122
a
y
Baltimore, MD 132
Washington, D.C. 122
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ak
Coastal Summary
effects are usually relatively mild, and safe
The Chesapeake Bay, 200nm long, has havens and hurricane holes are plentiful in
11,684 miles of shoreline and about 150 ma- all parts of the bay. Fog is intermittent, often
Chesap
jor tributaries. It connects the southbound dissipating by mid-morning. Fog can cause
Intracoastal Waterway’s Mile Zero at Norfolk temporary closure of the C&D Canal.
to the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal and Currents factor into navigating the C&D
Delaware Bay to the N. canal and other narrow passages. Outside
Yachts ply the bay year-round since win- the marked channels, nighttime hazards
ters can be mild, but conditions can also be include fish traps, crab pot buoys, and unlit
extreme enough for ice formation. For most, navigational aids. The most congestion will
however, the typical boating season is April be found at the extreme southern end, in
to November. Spring and fall generally bring the central and narrower section near the
patterns of mixed-severity fronts and winds William P. Lane Jr. (Chesapeake Bay) Bridge
veering NW to SW over a period of a few and approaches to Baltimore, and in the Elk
days. Mid-summer is hot and humid, often River where large commercial vessels funnel
with localized afternoon thunderstorms; keep into and out of the C&D Canal. Everywhere
an eye on the sky to be prepared. Depths in on the bay be watchful for tugs with barges,
the bay average about 21ft, creating choppy commercial and naval vessels.
conditions in as little as 15kts. Hurricane
115