Marinas in Ocean City, MD

June through September is generally the best boating window on Assawoman Bay, Isle of Wight Bay and through Ocean City Inlet, with July and August offering the warmest water. NOAA’s Ocean City Inlet averages rise from the low 50s in April to the upper 60s in June and mid-70s in July and August, then stay in the low 70s in September. Summer is also the busy period, with many small boats visiting Ocean City.

There is no hard local closing date: the 64th Street ramp operates year-round, though its in-season parking period runs April through October. Favor mornings when possible because coastal thunderstorms favor afternoons, and account for the inlet’s strong ebb current.

Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (ncei.noaa.gov)

You can boat from Ocean City into Assawoman Bay, Isle of Wight Bay, Sinepuxent Bay, Ocean City Inlet and the Atlantic Ocean. For shallow lagoon boating, choose Assawoman or Isle of Wight; NOAA describes them as a continuous lagoon, with deeper water generally confined to established channels. The 64th Street public ramp provides access to Assawoman Bay, while the West Ocean City Commercial Harbor has another public ramp.

Isle of Wight Bay connects with Ocean City Inlet, the marked passage to open Atlantic water; NOAA warns of a strong ebb current and changing inlet conditions. Sinepuxent Bay is narrow and mostly shoal behind Assateague Island, with direct access from Assateague State Park’s two ramps.

Source: Town of Ocean City (oceancitymd.gov)

Boaters from Ocean City make day trips to Assateague Island’s North End, Skimmer Island and the Bass Grounds. The North End offers a remote shoreline reached by boat, with no marked trails or facilities. Skimmer Island draws birdwatchers in kayaks and shallow-draft boats to see black skimmers and royal terns from outside the marked buffer; the island and its buffer are closed to public access from April 1 through September 15. Offshore anglers use the Bass Grounds, an artificial reef site that Maryland DNR describes as heavily fished.

Source: Maryland Department of Natural Resources (dnr.maryland.gov)

Maryland does not issue a recreational boating license, but people born on or after July 1, 1972 generally must carry a boating safety education certificate when operating a numbered or documented pleasure vessel. This includes personal watercraft, whose operators must be at least 16. Anyone under 16 operating a motorized vessel 11 feet or longer without a certificate must instead be supervised by someone 18 or older who holds a valid certificate, or who was born before the cutoff. Exemptions include commercial operators, qualifying visitors, private waters, and those born before the cutoff. Renters of motorized vessels other than personal watercraft may be issued a 10 day temporary certificate after reading a safety sheet. Maryland Natural Resources Police administers the program.

Source: Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Maryland Natural Resources Police (dnr.maryland.gov)

Maryland boaters should know the state’s life jacket, alcohol, registration and personal watercraft rules, enforced by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Natural Resources Police. Children under 13 must wear a Coast Guard approved life jacket while underway on a recreational vessel under 21 feet; children under 4 need added infant safety features. Operating while impaired is illegal, and an alcohol concentration of 0.08% is considered boating under the influence. Mechanically propelled vessels used most in Maryland during the calendar year must be registered. PWC operators must be at least 16, wear an approved life jacket and may not operate between sunset and sunrise.

Source: Maryland Department of Natural Resources (dnr.maryland.gov)

Maryland sets no general minimum age for operating a motorized vessel other than a personal watercraft, but an operator under 16 is never unsupervised. Under Natural Resources §8-712.2, someone under 16 must both hold a boating safety certificate and have an eligible supervisor aboard. For vessels under 11 feet, the supervisor must hold a certificate; for vessels 11 feet or longer, the supervisor must hold one and be at least 18. Someone born before July 1, 1972, may also supervise.

Personal watercraft operators must be at least 16 and carry a certificate if born on or after July 1, 1972. The rental operator sets its own minimum, so confirm it when booking.

Source: Maryland Department of Natural Resources (mgaleg.maryland.gov)

Alongside the marinas on this page, Ocean City has 10 boat rentals and 4 boat dealers.