Cruising New Jersey - Cape May Inlet
Cape May Inlet (38°56' N) lies less than 5 NM from the southern-most tip of the New Jersey coast, on the ocean side. NOAA Chart 12316 "ICW Little Egg Harbor to Cape May", covers the coastal details of this area. NOAA Chart 12317 "Cape May Harbor", also displays the inlet and harbor inside.
Cape May Inlet is a protected inlet extending slightly out into the ocean with lighted markers on both sides of the entrance. The inlet is straight with range markers at the rear of the inlet, visible from the ocean.
Cape May Canal
Inside Cape May Inlet is the protected Cape May Harbor, about 2 NM long. This harbor includes a number of docks and marinas, as well as the base for Coast Guard Station Cape May. At the far end of the harbor is the entrance to the Cape May Canal which provides inside passage to the Delaware Bay without having to round Cape May. The Canal is about 3 NM long with 55 ft verticle clearance on fixed bridges.
Inside, Cape May Inlet also connects to the New Jersey Intracoastal Waterway providing protected cruising north through the back-bays of the New Jersey Coast to Manasquan Inlet, about 85 NM north. The ICW channel passes through the marshes and tidal flats behind the barrier island north of Cape May Inlet, in a well-marked channel. The island is almost totally developed for its 6 NM length to Hereford Inlet, and contains the beachfront community of Wildwood, New Jersey.
Passing Hereford Inlet, the ICW continues north to the Townsends Inlet, 8 NM further up the coast, passing behind Stone Harbor and Avalon. Development of the oceanfront is almost continuous from Townsends Inlet, south to Cape May. The ICW never exits these inlets, but access is available for those wanting to "Go Outside". The ICW continues north in the protected waters of the bays.