Cape May to Atlantic City

Cape May has always been a favorite stopover of mine on our way north/south along the New Jersey coast.  From our slip at Utsch’s Marina it is just a short stroll to the Lobster House to pickup fresh scallops and the homemade soup of the day for preparation on Lazy W.  A leisurely bike ride down Lafayette Street brings you to Beach Avenue which follows the line of dunes fronting the shoreline.  All along the way are the grand ‘painted ladies’ from the late nineteenth century lovingly restored into B&B’s, guest houses and private homes.  The city of Cape May has more of these Victorian structures than any other place in the country and in 1976 the city was designated a National Historic Landmark District.

Along Beach Avenue

The beach promenade was hosting a small art fair and we perused the photographs and watercolors before crossing the walkway over the dunes to the beach.  And we were able to do this without purchasing a ‘beach tag’ which was needed later on that morning when ‘beach tag enforcers’ controlled access to the beach.

We departed Cape May Harbor on July 11^th.  Just as we reached the Atlantic Ocean we were surprised to see a lone female paddleboarder about one mile offshore – not another soul around her and we thought, how dangerous is that?  Later on while reading The Press of Atlantic City we realized that she was Margo Pellegrino, a 44-year-old mother of two, who is an expert stand-up paddleboarder.   We saw her getting started on her quest to become the first person to do a non-stop paddleboard excursion from Cape May to Sandy Hook – 127 miles!  Why? To raise money for Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania.  She expects to arrive in Sandy Hook sometime tomorrow afternoon, 30 hours after leaving Cape May.  And we thought we were adventurous!!

There is not much happening out in the Atlantic off the Jersey coast.  We followed the long white ribbon of sand from about two miles out.  A few pods of dolphin, several parasailers off Wildwood and an occasional fishing excursion boat were all that kept us company until the casino towers of Atlantic City came into view.  It was time to brace ourselves for entry into busy Absecon Inlet.

Atlantic City Coast Guard Station

Rather than pay exorbitant marina fees at the Trump-managed Farley State Marina we returned to a favorite anchorage in a basin just off Rum Point.  The only problem with this anchorage is getting there – the water leading to it is very shallow.  As we entered I could see fishermen standing in waist-deep water just a few feet off Lazy W’s starboard side but Frank bravely hugged the portside muddy flats.  There were no other boats anchored in the basin and we picked a choice spot in twelve feet of water.  A nice refreshing breeze kept us comfortable but would later prove to be a BIG problem.

Borgata’s, The Water Club and Harrah’s from our Atlantic City anchorage

(note the wind turbines to the right)

As darkness enveloped the anchorage, the entire wavy-top building behind Harrah’s transformed into a huge, garish electronic billboard! 

WORLD SERIES OF POKER!

HANGOVER SLOTS!

CASH SPIN!

HOLY GUACOMOLE

 AUTHENTIC MEXICAN CUISINE AND TEQUILA!

HANG OUT AT THE RED DOOR SPA!

And then the gentle breeze turned on us and blew at 20-25 knots with gusts of 30 knots.  By midnight we were dragging anchor and drifting perilously close to some small boat piers.  With adrenaline pumping, we sprang into action with a plan to reset the hook.  I donned a life jacket and fought my way (literally) through the wind to reach the bow pulpit while Frank started the engines.  I undid the bridle and raised the muddy anchor as Frank motored Lazy W further out into the basin where we let out 125 feet of anchor chain.  More than an hour later we convinced ourselves that the wind was calming down and the anchor was holding.  Too keyed up to sleep we made breakfast and wondered aloud how Margo Pellegrino, the paddleboarder, was faring in these conditions.

The same blustery winds that caused us to drag anchor forced Margo Pellegrino ashore at 3AM at Ship Bottom on Long Beach Island.  She had paddled beyond Atlantic City!  While she had planned to continue her trek up the Jersey coast at sunup, weather conditions were not ideal.  However, she managed to paddle as far as Seaside Heights (north of Barnegat Inlet) before abandoning her quest to reach Sandy Hook.  She told a reporter, “At best we would have been a Coast Guard rescue, and at worst we would have been dead.”  Undaunted, Margo plans to attempt the 127-mile paddle again someday.  Her current effort raised $2,300 for childhood cancer research. 

While Margo was paddling toward Seaside Heights, we listened to marine forecasts and decided to stay at anchor for another day awaiting more favorable seas for the remaining 90 mile cruise to Sandy Hook.  We dinghied across Absecon Inlet and stopped in at the Farley State Marina for ice.  The dock hand there informed us that docking fees were now half the price we remembered them being in 2002!  We could have been tied securely to a dock instead of dragging anchor halfway across the Rum Point basin!!  “And what fun would that have been?” asked the Captain.