Marinas in Rehoboth DE

[CAMELLA]

I have a lot of friends with beach houses in Rehoboth Beach DE. I was thinking I might take my boat there next summer for a month. I most likely would only stay on the boat on weekends and drive back and forth with the family. I would appreciate any local knowledge on where to stay, I know the water in this area is pretty skinny.

 

[aquadancer]

I have a beach house in Lewes, DE and I'm pretty familiar with the area. Unfortunately, you have no options for your boat in on Rehoboth Bay. Closest viable options are Indian River Marina just inside Indian River Inlet or marinas on the canal in Lewes. Further south, you have options inside the Ocean City Inlet, like Sunset Marina.

Pretty much all the marinas cater primarily to fishing boats and transient slips can be hard to come by. Cruising boats in Lewes tend to stay at the city dock or Canalfront Park marina, both of which are city-owned and have some transient slips http://www.ci.lewes.de.us/index.cfm?ref=11100&ref6=35. This is right downtown Lewes with short walk to restaurants, shopping, etc. Easy bike ride to both Delaware Bay and Ocean beaches from downtown Lewes. From there, you have about a half hour dinghy ride down Lewes-Rehoboth Canal to the town of Rehoboth Beach.

Indian River Marina is part of the Delaware State Park system and also cater to fishing and charter boats http://www.destateparks.com/marinas/index.asp. You're a much more isolated here, one restaurant/bar at the marina is pretty much it. You can also dinghy to Rehoboth. Nice ocean beach across the street.

Ocean City inlet marinas are really a different animal and probably a little far from Rehoboth but you may want to check out Sunset Marina.

I have a Pro-Line 21cc in Lewes which is a perfect boat for inner bays and canals around there. I still bring the Searay down at least for couple of weeks. Lewes is a great town to visit by boat, daytrip across the bay to Cape May is always nice, and there are some awesome and very much underappreciated anchorages around Cape Henlopen on the DE Bay side.

Let me know if you need anything else.

 

[CAMELLA]

Aquadancer, Thanks for the great info. We really want to stay close to Rehoboth since all our friends are there, so Ocean City is out. Lewes downtown sounds like a nice option, is that the only option in Lewes?. Is the marina protected, is there a lot of boat traffic leading to boat wakes? Its a shame the Rehoboth Bay isn't deeper. The anchorage at Cape Henlopen is protected?

 

[aquadancer]

Town docks are exposed to the canal boat traffic but wakes are rarely an issue. Marina slips are fine, the linear dock (about 200' of floating dock) is directly across from Lewes head boats (two 80' trawlers) so when they maneuver in the turning basis, there is some wake. Not a major issue. There is a pretty swift (~3 kts) current so be careful docking.

All the slips along north side of the canal in Lewes are typically dedicated to charter and local fishing boats. Slips do open up every now and then if charter operators go out of business or haul out for extended repairs.

My favorite Cape anchorage is marked with the sun on the map. It is pretty well protected from prevailing west and northwest winds by a system of large breakwaters. Of course the Cape itself shelters you from the onshore winds and ocean swells. Very unspoiled and quiet place, unusual along the coast. Typically, you'll have the beach to yourselves.

If I were you, I would try to book a slip at Canalfront Park marina. Great in-town location, easy beach access, easy dinghy or car ride to Rehoboth. I tried to put some notes on the Google Map pics below.

 

[aquadancer]

Beach at the Cape Henlopen anchorage

View attachment 38649

 

[CAMELLA]

Aquadancer, I really appreciate the local knowledge and the detailed info you provided. I will call the Lewes harbormaster to see what my options are. The anchorage looks like something from the Outer Banks.
Thanks again!

 

[fastboatguy]

you could also check out rehobeth bay marina on the bay side they are on Collins street in dewey beach gated marina nice people good free parking access to bay ,oralk accoss steet to ocean
beaches take jolley trolly to Rehobeth for a dollar a person. my 320 dancer has no problems manuvring around th bay 36" draft. maria is full service check out here web site

 

[JimFromMD]

I was just down at Rehoboth Beach this weekend helping a friend prep their rental house. For fun, I checked Uber a couple times, but no cars in the area at all. May be an option in-season, but otherwise you'll need a car or to rely on your friends to get around on the inbound trip and outbound trip with the boat.

 

[rondds]

I have a buddy with a house in Bethany Beach. He brings his boat around from the Bush River in Edgewood, MD almost every summer and always leaves it at Indian River Marina, usually for a month or so. Looks like it's about the same distance to Rehobeth as the Lewes places are. Fun inlet. Marina is just beyond the bridge to the right. Got a solid "5 stars" on Active Captain.

[video=youtube;p-0WSJvit0g]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-0WSJvit0g[/video]