The Jetty

David John Barrett
 

The Surf, the Beach, and the Inlet Jetty - for me these are the Big Three, the best spots in the
Wildwoods. While restaurants, amusement rides, hotels, and even movie theatres and piers,
can come and go, the Big Three are always there. That is until the Summer of 2022.
As a teenager I worked in Wildwood. It was then that I first looped the length of the Five Mile
Island beach. The loop included walking out on the Jetty. Other than when, as a father, I had
small kid duty, I have walked to the Jetty whenever I have vacationed in the Wildwoods.
This past summer, exploring with my grandson, I discovered that you could no longer walk to
the Jetty. The Big Three was down to Two.
Fifty years ago, the walk involved paralleling the barren sand dunes of Diamond Beach, crossing
the beach area assigned to the Catholic Sisters, and entering the United States Coast Guard
(USCG) area. The southern part of the Wildwoods was isolated back then, and other than the
surfers and nuns, it was mostly secluded. The whole walk could be completed along the
waterline as there was no wildlife preserve. The Jetty was in pristine shape.
The two parallel jetties that form the Cape May Inlet are constructed from huge blocks of
granite that weigh several tons each and range in size up to 10 feet or more across. The
northern jetty runs out into the ocean some distance past the breakers. At its terminus there is
a two story tower whose base is fixed to the rocks with a raised concrete foundation. The
channel at that point is 400’ wide with a depth that is maintained at 25’. Over the years storms
have battered the jetty and currents have undermined its sandy base. What was once a
relatively easy walk to the tower became a mild, and fun, back and forth scramble.
After walking from North Wildwood, my sons and I have enjoyed eating lunch sitting at the base
of the tower. Once past the breakers, it is surprisingly serene out there, even when there is
boat traffic. Looking north from that isolated position, it is hard to imagine that the island was
holding a summer crowd of more than one hundred thousand people. Very, very few of those
people ever visit the Jetty, and almost none walk to the tower. You never really need to travel
far to find solitude.
Fisherman cast lines from the Jetty, but they never fish out at the tower. They favor channel
fishing on the beach end of that rock pile. Also, it was very rare to see a USCG family come
down the dune trail from the LORAN Support Unit to enjoy the beach. However, in later years
as Diamond Beach was developed there was some foot traffic to the Jetty.
The foot traffic was eventually reduced when a portion of the beach was closed during the
spring and summer seasons. This was done to protect the nesting of migratory birds. It took me
a vacation or two to discover that you could still walk to the Jetty using a trail through the Two-
Mile Beach Unit (TMB) of the Cape May National Wildlife Preserve (CMNWP).
The trail starts back in the dry sand well away from the intertidal zone. The trailhead is marked
with a chinning bar. (Yes, it was a requirement to do chins. That is until, with age, my shoulder
is sometimes an issue.) Portions of the trail can be challenging, but then adverse conditions
only add to the adventure of the trek. Some of the walk is done on very loose sand which can
only be traversed with an awkward gait. Once inside the dunes and brush, you are screened
from the ocean breeze, so it can get quite hot. However, the worst hazard is the flying insects
that bite. They are not always present, but when they are it is a pain. I handle these pests by
using a shirt just like a horse uses a tail. I walk the distance swinging the shirt, first over one
shoulder, then behind an opposite leg, and then do the same over the other shoulder and leg.
With a little practice this protective procedure can be implemented without thought. It is
usually effective, although one or two enemy Fighters may make their way through to the
Battleship.
The beach of the USCG area and the trail of the TWB are the best places on the island to
observe wildlife, whether it be animals from the sea, the air or the dunes. (Yes, I have seen
dolphins from the Jetty.) This is the only part of the island where you will find ghost crabs.
Once, I was curious about what a crab tunnel looked like. While digging into a tunnel with a
clam shell, I accidently struck a crab and flipped off its upper shell. The poor animal made a
bee-line for the ocean. This outcome to my investigation filled me with great regret. I hope, like
during molting, a new protective shell soon formed.
I should state here that Dave Snyder was the premier Beach Walker of the Wildwoods. Dave
was well known as the bouncer of the Oasis Night Club. He would walk the beach or the
boardwalk every day regardless of the season or the weather. He continued to do so into his
80’s, and his note book indicates that he had walked 90,000 miles. This distance should have
earned him an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records, but he did not meet their
standards for documentation. In my opinion, the Wildwood’s lost a chance to memorialize
Dave, and a commercial opportunity, by not creating a “Dave Snyder Walk the Beach Day”.
Walking a beach doesn’t require much thought. The vastness of the sky, the turmoil of the
ocean, and the open serenity of the white sand is packed with enough beauty to make thinking
secondary to pure perception. There is much splendor in just taking that next step. I imagine
that Dave Snyder mostly walked that way.
However, a beach walk can also evoke contemplation and deep thought. Many decisions
concerning my life were made on a beach. And a beach can provide wisdom. On a beach walk I
once wrote the name of a girl in the sand. On my return I found the surf had washed the name
away. It was good advice.
For those so inclined to think about such things, there is much to study on a beach. By just
walking from horizon to horizon you will encounter a scientific wonder. The tower at the Jetty
can be seen rising out of the water before the Jetty is observed, which to the chagrin of Flat
Earthers, helps to prove the roundness of the Earth.
Only once was I near to the Jetty in the evening. I shared that visit to the CMNWP with my wife,
my youngest son, one of his friends, and a nature photographer. (Photography was the reason
for our being there.) The boys went out on the Jetty, but I wasn’t able to join them. We greeted
a beach warden as we left, just on the safe side of curfew.
In the summer of 2022, I encountered the following notice: “INDEFINITE CLOSURE: The USCG
property, which sits on the southern boundary of CMNWP’s TMB, is now closed permanently to
the public.” I was grievously disappointed. I will miss the Jetty. Visiting it is an experience that I
would have wanted to share with my grandchildren.
Some folks will ignore the closure sign. And fisherman seem to have their own way of accessing
the Jetty. Perhaps they can justify trespassing based on the government’s mixing of the word
“indefinite” with “permanent”. But in spite of over fifty years of visiting the Jetty, and with a
heavy heart, I will honor the closure.
Maybe I’ll join the fisherman.