You Can See Rare Concrete Shipwreck off of Cape May City, NJ

My wife Margie and I really love spending quality time in Cape May City, New Jersey. We’re here as I write this article.

Following a wonderful breakfast at Congress Hall, we took a short drive to Sunset Beach, located at the very point of Cape May City.

I have seen The S.S. Atlantus many times over the years.

Today, I walked all the way to the water’s edge to take the featured photo above and below.

It is the remains of an experimental concrete ship, the World War I S.S. Atlantus. It is one of only 12 concrete ships ever made.

The concrete ships proved to be impractical after several trans-Atlantic trips because of their overall weight.

Here is the official story about The S.S. Atlantis’ demise:

In 1926, the Atlantus was purchased by Colonel Jesse Rosenfeld to be used as ferry dock in Cape May, New Jersey for a proposed ferry between Cape May and Cape Henlopen, DE. On June 8th, a storm hit and the ship broke free of her moorings and ran aground 150 feet off the coast of Sunset Beach. Several attempts were made to free the ship, but none were successful.

There it sits today, as it has for almost 100 years.

You can see it very well from Sunset Beach with the naked eye. However, they have several mounted binoculars that you can pay for and view the concrete shipwreck even closer.

There is so much incredible history to be found in Cape May City.

I hope you enjoyed our walk together down Cape May City memory lane.