Depending on where you are in the world, inlets have different names. In the Bahamas, they call them cuts. Out West, they refer to the ‘bar crossing’ when coming in and out to sea through the mouth of a river. But on the East Coast, we call them inlets: river mouths or breaks in the barrier islands that may (or may not) have navigable channels.
Inlets are often an afterthought for boaters on the ICW and Great Loop. After all, they navigate on protected waterways and have little interest in going offshore. Because of this, not enough attention is paid to the inlets when making their daily plans. The inlets provide an important alternative to those waterways, sometimes allowing you to pass restrictions (i.e. bridge schedules or bridges closed for maintenance). Plus, they can all you to go outside and enjoy a pleasant day of cruising offshore.
Here’s a look at the inlets you’ll find along the way when traveling between Norfolk, Virginia, and Miami, Florida. At the bottom, you’ll find a table of each inlet, with navigation notes of everything you need to know when passing.
What Is an Inlet? What’s the Big Deal?
However you shake it, an inlet is a tight, navigable channel that connects protected inland waters from the open ocean.
Inlets are rated based on how safe they are. It’s nearly always a given that you should expect strong tidal currents around an inlet. However, channel shoaling must also be expected because moving water shifts sediments. Some channels are dredged deep and wide to allow big ships to come and go in all weather, while others are left to shoal over until they become completely impassible by even the smallest go-fast boats.
But the truth is, there are lots of reasons you might want to run an inlet or two and go outside for a day. In many places, the inlets are spaced just right to allow you to make major mileage by spending an easy day offshore. And, in the right weather, this can be a real joy — a change of pace, change of scenery, and blissful escape from the Waterway. Let’s be honest; some spots are worth skipping, especially if you’ve done them before (I’m looking at you, Myrtle Beach).
For boaters with deeper drafts or taller masts, the journey north and south requires hopping from inlet to inlet. So, while you might consider the ICW to be an inside route, the migration can be done in any number of ways: all inside, all outside, or a combination of the two as weather permits. The last option is our favorite because we mix up days inside with days outside, and we try to skip the areas of the ICW that we’re finished with (Myrtle Beach!)
However, there are some important limitations you need to know about if you are heading offshore. For one, there is no safe inlet between Chesapeake Bay and Beaufort, NC — all of the inlets between the two are unsuitable for a cruising boat. That means that the trek from the Bay always starts with a multi-day passage and requires a good weather window to head out. Once in Beaufort, inlets are better spaced to allow for day hops, but having the option of doing an overnight opens up a lot more possibilities.
Planning for a Safe Passage Through an Inlet
Inlets are deceiving. They can be mill ponds one day, suitable for leisurely kayaking, and raging cauldrons of doom the next that are unsafe for any vessel. The hazard represented by running unfamiliar inlets cannot be over-emphasized. Every year, boaters ‘come a cropper’ in inlets when encountering conditions much worse than anticipated. In the worst cases, boats can be smashed apart on sandbars or swamped and sunk by steep waves right in the channel.
If you think this sounds a bit melodramatic, we suggest you haven’t been boating very long. Here are just two stories that come to mind.
In 2024, a cruising sailboat sank suddenly in the Abacos while running Whale Cay Channel on a clear, sunny day. Unfortunately, they ran against a strong ebb tide and contrary to a large (6-8′) ocean swell. The boat was swamped and sank in a matter of minutes, but the crew was luckily rescued by another boat coming in behind them.
For a first-hand account of the horrors of running an unfamiliar inlet, check out Matt and Jessica Sailing’s 2012 account of their bad day in the St. Augustine Inlet. (Two thoughts about this story: 1. This inlet has since been dredged. 2. We now have access to a lot more information than MJ had, thanks to US ACE surveys on the Aquamap app.)
Still at the wheel, Matt was doing his best to move us forward and into deeper water. The waves coming at Serendipity were eight foot breakers and they were completely having their way with us. Every 10 seconds we’d be lifted up sixteen feet and then slammed down hard onto our keel. It was like an earthquake inside the boat, and with each slam the whole boat would shake and shudder inside and out.
--MJ Sailing, November 29, 2012
As boaters, sometimes it’s important to ask ourselves, ‘What could go wrong?’ — and to be brutally honest about it. In the ocean, the answer is quite a lot.
Planning a safe transit of an inlet requires understanding and managing the risks. You need to focus on three areas: picking the safest inlet, knowing the actual depths and channel location, and planning the wind and current. Notice: all of these tasks are completed before embarking on a trip, not done on the fly during the trip. It’s important to know your route, chosen inlet, and backup inlets you might use before you ever put to sea!
1. Pick Your Inlet
It’s very important to pick your inlets smartly, considering not only your experience in the area and with your boat but also the weather on the day of your arrival or departure.
It’s also a good idea to have a backup inlet in mind. If you start to doubt the viability of your first choice, know where the nearest big-ship inlet is and make for that. You need to have a way to get into port should the conditions be worse than you expect. A Class A inlet must always be in your hip pocket, even if it means an extra uncomfortable night at sea.
There’s a list of Class A inlets to know at the bottom of this article.
2. Study Depths and Channel Location
On a calm day at slack tide, the only real hazard is running aground. To this end, you must stick to inlets with well-marked, navigable channels that carry sufficient depth for your vessel.
Having up-to-date information on the channel is vital. If it’s a huge shipping channel, chances are there won’t be any big changes. It’s dredged often, and any buoys that need repositioning are taken care of immediately.
If it’s a minor, small-boat channel, you cannot expect the same level of service. When it comes to these secondary inlets, most nautical charts are more or less blank — to the point they often don’t even put the channel markers on the chart. There’s sometimes even a note: channel markers moved often. This isn’t much help if you’ve never been there before.
Thankfully, modern boating apps are updated frequently enough that you can get a good idea of what the channel looks like. They still cannot be completely trusted, however. Aquamap with the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) surveys will show you the channel position, accurate depths, and buoy positions. This is the only source that is trustworthy and updated relatively frequently. However, always check the age of the survey you are looking at and realize that conditions may have changed dramatically if it’s been more than a year.
If you don’t know where the channel is, never go to sea and plan on finding the buoys visually. If you are unfamiliar, and it’s not charted, or information is unavailable, it’s a hint that you should not try to use that inlet. Plan your trip for an inlet where the conditions are better known.
3. Account for Wind, Currents, and Swell
The most dangerous situation in any inlet is when forces oppose one another. For example, waves will build dangerously in any inlet when a stiff onshore wind meets an ebbing tide. The same goes for when a large ocean swell meets an ebb tide.
So, planning a safe transit of any inlet, regardless of its size and depth, comes down to timing your passage for when forces are not opposing one another. If there is a stiff onshore wind or a large swell running, you must wait until the tidal current in the inlet is slack or on the flood. If you’re arriving from offshore, that probably means slowing down your approach to arrive at the correct time. You can always slow down, but you can seldom speed up.
If you’re departing, the same planning is required. Don’t be tempted to ride the ebb tide outbound for maximum speed because the inlet will be a mess in the face of strong conditions offshore. In these conditions, attempting your departure for slack tide is better.
Tips and Tricks for Safe Inlet Passage
- Do your homework: Know when slack current is for inlets along your route, and consider the forecasted wind and swell before you head out.
- Make a ‘bar crossing checklist’ for your boat and follow it. Such checklists are mandatory on commercial vessels. Some items you might include on yours are:
- Everyone wears their PFDs and uses tethers when on deck or in exposed cockpits
- Prepare for sea: secure all loose items, lash down anything on deck, and check the galley and tables for things that need putting away (cups, dishes, pans, knives, etc.)
- Dog all hatches; close the companionway.
- Sails ready to hoist in case of engine problems (covers off, stack pack unzipped, halyards attached, etc.)
- Sailboaters — sails up or down? It depends on the conditions. The sails add significant stability and mobility in the right conditions but could be an added risk factor if you go aground.
- Subscribe to either TowBoatUS or SeaTow.
- If you’re new to cruising in an area, stick to the best charted, big ship “Class A” inlets. It might mean a few extra miles here and there, but it’s much less stressful and safer.
- Remember that inlets will be marked with red on the right when returning from sea. At the junction with the ICW, the marks can be confusing. Study the chart and know what to expect before you get there.
- If you have difficulty finding specific information about an inlet, it probably means that it’s not appropriate to use.
- Review Aquamap (one of our favorite boating apps) and USACE surveys to find the most current information about the inlet you want to try.
- Call the local SeaTow or TowBoatUS operator (whichever you are a member of). They can provide up-to-date local knowledge for running the inlet.
- Have your binoculars handy and navigate visually. Use Aquamap and surveys to back up your findings. Chartplotters and paper maps are the most likely to be out of date.
- If you have any doubts about the markers’ location, safe water, or the present conditions in the inlet, DO NOT TRY TO RUN IT! Stay inside and wait for better weather, or stay offshore and proceed to an inlet with better conditions (Class A big ship channel with better tide/wind scenario). Sometimes, all it takes is heaving-to for a few hours and waiting for the current to reverse.
Safe US East Coast Inlets from North to South (Norfolk to Miami)
The following three tables list the US East Coast Inlets.
Table 1 indicates big ship, Class A inlets that should be acceptable for new boaters, boaters unfamiliar with the area, or in less-than-ideal weather.
Table 2 includes the same Class A inlets, plus acceptable secondary inlets that may be useful in good weather and with accurate charts/surveys and planning.
Table 3 is a list of unacceptable inlets, those which should be avoided.
These tables are not all-inclusive but include everything a cruising boater should know. If an inlet is not included, assume it’s not worth trying!
East Coast Inlets for Beginners — Easy Inlets You Should Know
The first table is a list of the major “Class A” inlets that every boater should know. These are the really good ones, they ones that you should know where are over the course of a trip.
There are a few exceptions — smaller inlets that were included on this list because they are GENERALLY easy to navigate and safe. They’re not “Class A” or big ship channels, but they are pretty nice for cruising boats and seldom pose any major challenges. But remember: Any inlet, no matter the size, can pose a hazard in the wrong conditions!
This table should be helpful for boaters planning their first trip south or northbound along the coast. By basing your trip off these easy-to-use inlets, you can get an idea of how many miles you need to make in a day. Keep in mind that mileages here are from sea buoy to sea buoy headed southbound (simply reverse for northbound) — you’ll sometimes need to trek 20 nm or more in addition to make it up the inlet or river and into a safe port.
| Inlet Name | Port City | ICW MM (sm) | Big Ship/ Class A? | US ACE Survey? | Outside Mileage (Sea buoy to sea buoy, nm) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hampton Roads | Hampton/ Norfolk | 0 | YES | YES | 0 | Very busy with ships/Navy. Monitor Ch. 13 & 16. |
| Beaufort | Beaufort/Morehead City | 204 | YES | YES | 222 | |
| Masonboro | Wrightsville Bch | 285 | NO | YES | 63 | Anchorage and marinas very near inlet, very convenient stop when coming around Hatteras. |
| Cape Fear River | Southport/Wilmington | 308 | YES | YES | 57 | Strong currents. |
| Winyah Bay | Georgetown SC | 410 | NO | YES | 48 | Current sets across breakwaters. |
| Charleston | Charleston | 464 | YES | YES | 49 | Small boats need not honor out markers, but breakwaters are long and underwater. |
| Port Royal Sound | Beaufort/ Hilton Head | 548 | NO | YES | 57 | Channel only surveyed. Oriented N/S. Long way into town. |
| Tybee Roads | Port of Savannah/ Thunderbolt | 575 | YES | YES | 11 | Oriented E/W. |
| St Simons Sound | Brunswick, GA | 678 | YES | YES | 61 | Channel Oriented NW-SE |
| St Marys River | Fernandina Bch, FL | 714 | YES | YES | 22 | Navy activity, channel closes for nuclear subs. Very long jetties are often partially submerged. |
| St Johns River | Jacksonville | 740 | YES | YES | 19 | |
| St Augustine | St Augustine | 777 | NO | YES | 29 | Not a ship channel, use caution. Markers frequently off-station. |
| Port Canaveral | Cape Canaveral | 894 | YES | YES | 110 | Cruise ship port, lock to ICW. |
| Fort Pierce Inlet | Fort Pierce/Vero Bch | 965 | NO | YES | 56 | Strong currents. |
| Lake Worth Inlet | Palm Beach | 1018 | YES | YES | 45 | |
| Port Everglades | Fort Lauderdale | 1067 | YES | YES | 41 | Busy port. |
| Government Cut | Port of Miami/ Miami Bch | 1089 | YES | YES | 20 | Main ship channel for port. |
| Cape Florida Channel | Key Biscayne | 1096 | NO | NO | 7 | Access to Key Biscayne and South Miami. |
East Coast Inlets — The More Complete List
Here’s the same list, but with secondary options added. These inlets must be used with caution.
| Inlet Name | Port City | ICW MM (sm) | Big Ship/ Class A? | US ACE Survey? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hampton Roads | Hampton/ Norfolk | 0 | YES | YES | Busy shipping and Navy hub. Monitor Ch. 13 and 16. |
| Little Creek | Norfolk | NA | NO | YES | Marinas only, no ICW access. Navy base — well maintained and deep. |
| Lynnhaven | Virginia Bch | NA | NO | YES | Shoaly entrance. Marinas only, no ICW access. |
| Rudee | Virginia Beach | NA | NO | YES | ⚠️ Marinas only. 28′ vertical bridge. Does not connect to ICW. |
| Cape Lookout Bight | Cape Lookout National Seashore | NA | NO | YES (anchorage only) | Does not connect to ICW, access to Lookout Bight anchorage only. |
| Beaufort | Beaufort/Morehead City | 204 | YES | YES | Small boats can enter/exit channel outside R6. |
| Masonboro | Wrightsville Bch | 285 | NO | YES | Small boats can enter/exit the channel outside R6. |
| Cape Fear River | Southport/Wilmington | 308 | YES | YES | Strong currents. Small boats can enter/exit outside R8 |
| Little River | Myrtle Bch | 342 | NO | YES | Used by large casino ship. Straightforward and surveyed. |
| Winyah Bay | Georgetown SC | 410 | NO | YES | Current sets across breakwaters. |
| Charleston | Charleston | 464 | YES | YES | Small boats need not honor out markers, but breakwaters are long and underwater. Enter/exit outside R16. |
| South Edisto River | 511 | NO | NO | ⚠️ | |
| St Helena Sound | 518 | NO | NO | ||
| Port Royal Sound | Beaufort, SC | 548 | NO | YES | Channel only surveyed. Very long channel surrounded by shallow bars. |
| Calibogue Sound | Hilton Head | 564 | NO | NO | Not surveyed, winding channel surrounded by shoals. Use caution. |
| Tybee Roads | Savannah | 575 | YES | YES | Small craft can enter/exit outside R6. |
| Wassaw Sound | Thunderbolt | 585 | NO | NO | ⚠️ Access to Thunderbolt with no fixed bridges. Shifting, shoaly channel, seek local knowledge. |
| St Catherines Sound | 619 | NO | NO | ⚠️ | |
| Sapleo Sound | 633 | NO | NO | ⚠️ | |
| St Simons Sound | Brunswick, GA | 678 | YES | YES | Channel Oriented NW-SE, makes many extra miles when heading south but is convenient when heading north. |
| St Andrews Sound | 690 | NO | NO | ⚠️ | |
| St Marys River | Fernandina Bch, FL | 714 | YES | YES | Navy activity, channel closes for nuclear subs. |
| St Johns River | Jacksonville | 740 | YES | YES | Busy shipping channel, monitor VHF for opposite direction tows and ships. |
| St Augustine Inlet | St Augustine | 777 | NO | YES | ⚠️ Historically dangerous, but dredged and surveyed recently. Markers are frequently off-station. |
| Ponce Inlet | New Smyrna Bch | 843 | NO | YES | ⚠️ Channel straightforward, but with many shifting bars. Intersection with ICW is a trouble spot, must use survey to navigate. |
| Port Canaveral | Cape Canaveral | 894 | YES | YES | Cruise ship port, lock to ICW. |
| Fort Pierce Inlet | Fort Pierce/ Vero Bch | 965 | NO | YES | Straightforward, but beware strong currents. |
| St Lucie Inlet | Stuart/Port St Lucie | 988 | Biscayne Channel | YES | ⚠️ Historically shoaly and dangerous, but recently dredged with new surveys (2023). |
| Lake Worth Inlet | Palm Beach | 1018 | YES | YES | Straightforward. |
| Hillsboro Inlet | Pompano Bch | 1053 | NO | YES (older) | ⚠️ Blocked by a scheduled drawbridge. Strong currents. |
| Port Everglades | Fort Lauderdale | 1067 | YES | YES | Straightforward. |
| Government Cut | Port of Miami/ Miami Bch | 1089 | YES | YES | Ship channel for port. Direct access to downtown and Miami Beach. |
| Cape Florida Channel | Key Biscayne | 1096 | NO | NO | Parallels the west coast of Key Biscayne. |
| Biscayane Channel | South Miami/ Biscayne Bay | 1098 | NO | NO | Cuts across the sand bores of Biscayne Bay directly to the ICW. |
East Coast Inlets You Should Avoid
This table is a list of notoriously bad East Coast inlets. Often boaters ask about these spots because they are convenient to their destinations or their plans…but there’s a reason these spots aren’t often mentioned by cruising boaters.
In general, these are inlets that are allowed to shoal and are not regularly dredged for shipping. Many of these are frequented by small go-fast fishing boats and locals in nice weather.
| Inlet name | Navigation Notes |
|---|---|
| Oregon Inlet | Fixed bridge. Extremely hazardous, CG has removed markers. |
| Hatteras Inlet | Shoaling hazard. |
| Ocracoke Inlet | Surveyed, but shoaling changes depths rapidly. Markers moved frequently. CG Station Ocracoke for latest information. |
| Bogue Inlet | Shoaled. Small boat, calm weather only. |
| Carolina Beach Inlet | Shoaled. Small boat, calm weather only. |
| Five Fathom Creek | Shallow bar magnify seas and currents. |
| Stono River | Shallow bar magnify seas and currents. |
| North Edisto River | Unsurveyed by ACE. Shifting bars. Shallow bar magnify seas and currents. |
| Ossabaw Sound | Unsurveyed by ACE. Shifting bars. Shallow bar magnify seas and currents. |
| Doboy Sound | Unsurveyed by ACE. Shifting bars. Shallow bar magnify seas and currents. |
| Jupiter Inlet | Shoaled. Should not be attempted by cruising boats. |
| Boynton Inlet | Fixed bridge, challenging conditions. |
| Boca Inlet | Crossed by a bascule bridge. |
| Bakers Haulover Inlet | Fixed bridge. Site of many “stupid boater” YouTube videos, challenging conditions. |
Additional Resources
Visit Florida — Florida Inlets
Waterway Guide Explorer — Look for the blue boat symbol to read specific advice for each navigable inlet.
Inlets Facebook Group
Navigating Inlets of the East Coast USA — This Facebook Group is highly structured, so be sure to read the rules. The Companion Google Map is used to find the master post about an inlet, and from there you can ask questions or look for recent posts.
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