S. S. Atlantus - Sunken Concrete Ship in Cape May

The S. S. Atlantus is one of the main tourist attractions when you visit Sunset Beach in Cape May. This sunken ship was made out of concrete and was part of the World War 1 Emergency Fleet. The "Atlantus" was the second prototype, a 3,000 ton 250 foot long freighter. It was built with a 5" thick hull of special concrete to correct shattering and brittleness problems found in the first concrete ship.

The ship didn't last long and was sunken right off the coast of Cape May Point (Sunset Beach) thanks to a coastal storm on June 8th, 1926. Over the years...the concrete ship has become less and less visible from the beach. Every time we go to see it...we see a little bit less. What you see in my photos...is all that is left sticking up out of the water and my photos were captured during low tide.

Parking is free at Sunset Beach with a few handicap spaces available. Nearby you will find the Sunset Beach Grill, Gift Shop, Miniature Golf, World War 2 Lookout Tower and the Cape May Lighthouse National Park is right down the street.

The beach is a public beach which means you can bring you beach chairs, blankets, picnic baskets, etc. and spend some time out on the beach watching the boats go by, playing in the surf, searching for those famous Cape May diamonds, etc.

Every time we go down to the Jersey Shore we always stop by Sunset Beach. It's an absolutely gorgeous beach that has some of the best sunsets in the Cape May area.

NOTE: Click on each photo in this post. It will open in a new window and in an enlarged size so that you can see details.