Cape May, NJ 2012

In July 2012, Radeen and I spent a wonderful 2 weeks in Cape May, NJ harbor to escape the heat of the Chesapeake Bay. Cape May is not really a cruiser friendly town...yet it has the potential to become one. The town mainly caters to the sport fishing group and for them, South Jersey Marina and Canyon Club are ground zero. If you are aboard a cruising sailboat and you want fuel and a friendly place to stop, then UTSCH'S is your perfect location. Utsch's is across from the Canyon Club and has an easy short entrance running next to their bulkhead and then making a 90 degree turn into their very well protected basin. The fuel dock is easy to approach bow-in and so are the transient docks, with a full length floating dock on one side. Tides are about 4+ feet, so the floating docks are great.

Anchoring out is far better than it used to be now that the US Coast Guard has expanded the SLOW NO WAKE buoys to cover the anchored boats, not only in front of the USCG station. A few years ago, the no wake zone was a mere 100 yard stretch and the large fishing boats would power back up to planing with a 3+ foot wake right past the anchored yachts. I have anchored in Cape May, NJ almost every sumnmer since 2002 and I would call the USCG complaining about these wakes. I would ask them WHY the harbor was not a NO WAKE zone everywhere. The USCG said it was all political and that they had no control of that! WHAT? I guess the Canyon Club and South Jersey Marina clients run the town......BUT.....now.....the NO WAKE ZONE has been expanded from the USCG station to the inlet, which prevents these massive wakes from rolling the anchored yachts.

As of 2011, the Cape May, NJ harbor is a NO WAKE ZONE and most vessels are abiding by this. It is now comfortable to anchor right off the USCG station between new marker G7A and G7 in 7-8 foot water at low tides. While on anchor, the boats face into the current which will run east (ebb) and west (flood) as the harbor fills and drains. The winds are usually SW and a cool sea breeze is present most days. It is very comfortable on anchor in Cape May, NJ in July and August due to this breeze.

To make this town a true cruiser's stop, the town needs to offer a dedicated dinghy dock for coming into town from anchor. Currently, you can run the dinghy back into UTSCH'S, whose staff is so kind and friendly. They will allow you to tie up under the ramps to their floating docks. UTSCH'S also rents bikes and you can easily ride into town from there or walk to the free trolly stop near the WAWA convenience store.

Interesting things to do in CMNJ are: ride bikes the town; tour Victorian homes; spend days on the beach; tour the lighthouse; dine at the Lobster House; enjoy the shops and restaurants on the beach or in the historic district and attend one of many events at the new Convention Center.

Navigation: From the Chesapeake Bay, Rock Hall/Annapolis MD it is an easy 2 day run. Day One: Chesapeake Bay to Chesapeake City on the C&D Canal, anchoring in Engineer's Cove or tying up to the free town dock. Day Two: C&D canal into the Delaware Bay down to the ocean. If your mast is lower than about 54' you can use the Cape May Canal and save about an hour. If over, you need to use the ocean inlet. Once in the harbor, you can anchor off the USCG station near G7 or G7a.

Here are some charts of the area:

Cape May, NJ overview showing the ocean inlet and the Delaware Bay with the canal from the west



Cape May Harbor showing the USCG station and the anchorage



Cape May anchorage, G7 and G7A in 7-8 feet off the USCG station



NOAA CHARTS FROM:
www.charts.noaa.gov/OnLineViewer/AtlanticCoastViewerTable.shtml

Windows 7 SNIPPING TOOL used to capture images ( included free on every PC)

Have you spent time in Cape May NJ? Have you anchored here?

Hayden

Steve, we have heard of some people not being treated nicely at Utsch's but since 2002, we have had very pleasant stays every year there. We stop there for fuel and water on our way to and from New England and once you get past the challenge of the entrance it is easy. The option is to go into Canyon Club, where the fuel hose is the size for Aircraft Carriers and the pumps run too fast, or navigate the VERY tight channel and current down into South Jersey Marina. We have used all three of these places and we have found Canyon Club and South Jersey marinas to be very unfriendly to sailboat owners as they are usually not worth the service. These places are used to the large powerboats taking on hundreds of gallons of fuel and dropping large tips. When a sailboat comes in and takes on 20 gallons they are not real happy. We will always use Utsch's.

Here is another interesting aspect. The Lobster House Restaurant is ALWAYS packed and the wait is always 1 to 1.5 hours for dinner. BUT.....you can walk over from Utsch's marina (when docked there) get on the waiting list, pick up your flashing beeper and then walk back to your boat. Now have snacks and cooktails on your own boat in the marina, and when they page you, your beeper will go off even though you are 1/2 mile away. We have done this with the Lobster House for years!

Here is the lay of the Harbor and the locations of items.



Here is a picture of the USCG from our anchored spot off G7a