Day 122 - Cape May, a New Jersey Gem

Our weather on this leg has been fantastic, sunny and warm every day and today was no different.  Captain Randy wanted to wait to leave Delaware City until high tide, so we had a leisurely morning and a couple of omelets.  The Captain called BoatUS for some local knowledge about the Cape May Canal.  We left at 10:42 am, passing a nuclear power plant as we headed down the Delaware River to the Delaware Bay.

 

We travelled through a major shipping channel with huge freighters from Honk Kong, Singapore, Nassau, Bermuda and Monrovia.  These big boys create rolling wakes that the Captain has to pay attention to.  In addition to the wakes from the freighters, the water in the Bay had about a 2 foot chop.  In addition, there were several lights warning of shoals along the way.  The first to the port was the Ship John Shoal Light.  The river widened into the Delaware Bay with beaches on both sides.  There were 2 more shoal markers, the 14 foot Bank Light and the Brandywine Shoal Light.

 

Listening to the radio, we heard reports of boats in distress many of the days we are on the water.  Today we heard about a fishing boat near the Cape May Inlet on the Atlantic that was taking on water.  These reports serve as constant reminders of the need to keep vigilant in monitoring your boat and sea conditions.  Things can get out of control quickly.

By 1:10 pm we could see Cape May off the port side.  The Cape May Lighthouse sat on the point and people were enjoying the beaches.  We went through the Cape May Canal which had the Captain watching the depth very closely again.  We arrived at Utsch’s Marina at 2:10 pm and fuel up before going to our slip.  Utsch’s is a huge operation, with 300 slips and a boatyard with full service operations.

We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing on board.  For dinner, we went to the famous Lobster House, a couple of blocks away on Fisherman’s Pier. Getting there was not as easy as it sounds because you have to walk through the boatyard parking lot and on a busy road with no sidewalks. Once there, we see that the Lobster House is another huge operation!  Besides the indoor main dining room, there is carryout service, a smaller casual restaurant, and a bar on a sailboat, the Schooner America Cocktail Lounge.  In addition, there is a seafood market selling local and imported seafood.  We sat in the main dining room and tried local Cape May “Salty” oysters as well as 2 other types.  I had the local scallops which were delicious and the Captain had an assorted seafood platter.

 

 

 

The Lobster House was packed, clearly a very popular spot in town.  We looked forward to exploring more of Cape May in the morning.