Visiting The Fisherman’s Memorial in Cape May

We love visiting the Atlantic Coast and have a great respect for those who make their living there. Many people don't give it a second thought on where and how their food hits their dinner plate. Deep sea fishing is a dangerous and hard working business. Fishermen's lives are lost ever year at sea.

On a recent visit down to the south Jersey Shore (Wildwood), we took a short ride over to Cape May to check out some of their local attractions. One thing on our travel map caught my eye and that was the official Fisherman's Memorial in Cape May. You'll find it located at the end of Missouri Avenue.

If you're coming into Cape May via Lafayette Street, you'll want to make a left-turn onto Sidney Avenue, then a left-turn onto Washington Street, a right-turn onto Texas and then a left-turn onto Missouri Avenue. That's the easiest route if you're coming down from Stone Harbor or Wildwood to visit the memorial.

The Fisherman's Memorial in Cape May is 100% free to visit. There is a small parking area that offers free parking. Once you get out of your car you'll see the flagpole which holds the American Flag, the POW/MIA Flag and I believe the third one is the State of New Jersey flag. It was extremely breezy on the day that we visited, so that's why I'm not 100% sure on the third flag.

There are a few park benches sprinkled throughout the area where you can sit down to relax, take in the beauty and/or to reflect on why you're there. The grounds are beautifully landscaped, peaceful, relaxing and we were the only one's there during our visit. Nice to relax!

Next you'll come across the granite memorial which is absolutely stunning to see and humbling at the same time! The granite statue depicts a fisherman's wife who's comforting her two children. They're standing and facing the Cape May Harbor and the bay. It gave me the feeling that she was standing there with her children waiting for her husband to come home or reflecting on his death at sea. I guess you can interpret in several different ways.

The statue is standing on a granite memorial stone that says the following: "Dedicated to Fishermen Lost at Sea 1988. He hushed the storm to a gentle breeze and the billows of the sea were stilled".  After reading it, I had to pause to really think about those words and the meaning behind it. Profound to say the least.

Next, we spent some time reading off the names that were printed on the Fisherman's Memorial. It gives you the their name and the date that they were lost at sea. All of them were from the Cape May, New Jersey area. Family members and visitors often leave behind little mementos in their honor. We spotted seashells, little christian crosses, figurines, a laminated photograph and several other trinkets & mementos.

Nearby was another stone that gives you the information on who sponsored this beautiful and meaningful memorial. It states that it has been dedicated to the fishermen who were lost at sea -1988 and lists the names of the board of directors who were behind the project. A visitor left a glass octopus figurine sitting on top of the rock.

The Fisherman's Memorial overlooks the bay and the Cape May Harbor. There is a small beachfront area with two park benches that you can sit on to capture the beautiful coastal view. We spotted a few dry-docked boats out in the water and did spot 2-3 boats coming into the harbor...back from a day out fishing.

I found our entire visit to be a humbling experience. It was a great way to reflect and to pay our respects to the fishermen who have lost their lives at sea. As an added bonus, we got treated to some stunning views of the bay and harbor. Absolutely gorgeous area!

What a great FREE activity to do with your family. On our way out we spotted another family coming in who had brought a little picnic lunch along with them. They were headed to one of the waterfront benches, so that they could sit down and enjoy...while taking in the beautiful surroundings. Highly recommend that you visit it if you're going to be visiting the area.

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