CAPE MAY, NJ – The 1928 historic Oyster Schooner,  A. J. Meerwald is returning to Cape May on Friday, August 1st, 2025! New Jersey’s Official Tall Ship, A.J. Meerwald is returning to our area after sailing up the coast of NJ and providing public sails and educational programming in Toms River, New York Harbor and Sandy Hook Bay. She will sail again from the Cape May Ferry Terminal, in partnership with the Delaware River & Bay Authority. Public sails and Family Educational sails will be offered from August 1st through September 21st.

Sails are two hours in duration, departing from the ferry terminal and sailing out to the Delaware Bay. The 2-hour afternoon and evening sails will cruise along the scenic Delaware Bay, with views of the Cape May Lighthouse. Sails will head out the Cape May Canal into the Delaware Bay and head east to the lighthouse and/or west towards West Cape Bay. Beach goers should be able to see the boat sail by from Delaware Bay the beaches in West Cape May. Tickets are $50 per person. Passengers should plan to walk several hundred feet to board the vessel and climb up and down a series of stairs. 

On Wednesday & Saturday mornings at 11 AM, there is an Environmental Educational sail designed for kids and their parents or grandparents. Kids tickets are reduced to $25 and adults are $50. Recommended for kids ages 5 and up. The Environmental Education Sails feature fish identification, trawling, and additional education stations. All passengers are welcome to bring their own snacks and beverages aboard for the sail. The current sailing schedule and tickets can be found at https://www.bayshorecenter.org/ports-cape-may-nj/.

"Sailing aboard A.J. Meerwald from the ferry terminal in Cape May is a unique opportunity to sail out on the Delaware Bay, surrounded by sea life. This is what the Meerwald was built for.  Oystering in our local waters in the late 1920s and harvesting oysters that traveled all the way across the country. Together with DRBA, we look forward to offering visitors the opportunity to connect to our local history and learn more about oystering on the Delaware Bay. " - Jessica Yorke , Executive Director 

“We’re pleased to once again host New Jersey’s Tall Ship, A.J. Meerwald,” said Heath Gehrke, Director of Ferry Operations.  ““It’s such an awesome experience to sail the Delaware Bay aboard the A.J. Meerwald, imagining what it would be like to work on the vessel in the 1930s. What a great opportunity to enjoy this hands-on experience while learning about our rich local history on the Delaware Bay.”

About A.J. Meerwald:
The schooner A.J. Meerwald is a restored oyster dredging schooner from Bivalve, New Jersey. Launched in 1928, A.J. Meerwald embodies the true spirit of the schooner, adapted to efficiently fulfill the prevailing conditions and specific demands of her native waters. A.J. Meerwald was one of nearly five hundred schooners built along the Delaware Bay before the decline of the local shipbuilding industry in the 1930s. One hundred years later, there are only a handful of converted schooners still harvesting oysters.

Today, the AJ Meerwald is operated by the Bayshore Center at Bivalve as a traveling classroom and vehicle to enjoy the area’s waterways. Passengers can enjoy the excitement and wonder of sailing aboard a 115-foot schooner from the age of sail. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can even join the crew in hauling lines and setting sails! Enjoy the great outdoors as you breathe in the fresh air and marvel at the scenery that surrounds you.

The Bayshore Center at Bivalve is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to advance the understanding of the human impact on New Jersey’s aquatic environment through education, advocacy, and programming. BCB operates the authentically restored 1928 oyster schooner A.J. MEERWALD, New Jersey’s official tall ship, as a hands-on sailing classroom throughout the region. It also operates the Delaware Bay Museum and offers shore-based programs at its campus and schooner’s home port of Bivalve on the scenic Maurice River in Cumberland County.

The 2025 sailing season began back in April. Since then, the boat has sailed from her home port of at the Bayshore Center at Bivalve in Port Norris, NJ; up the Delaware River to Trenton; down to Norfolk, VA; to Cape May to kick off the summer in June and early July; followed by Toms River; Atlantic Highlands and Liberty State Park in Jersey City. Following her time in Cape May, she will sail to Philadelphia and then points south in the Chesapeake Bay this fall.  For more information, go to www.bayshorecenter.org or contact the Bayshore Center at Bivalve at 856-785-2060 or info@BayshoreCenter.org.

About the Cape May-Lewes Ferry 
Owned and operated by the Delaware River and Bay Authority, the Cape May – Lewes Ferry is open year-round and has carried more than 50 million passengers since its inception on July 1, 1964. As an integral transportation system connecting the communities and economies on both sides of the Delaware Bay, the Ferry service is a significant catalyst for economic growth and regional tourism activity in New Jersey and Delaware. Its operations sustain over 4,000 jobs while generating tens of millions of dollars in local taxes and hundreds of millions in regional economic activity. For schedules and rates, please visit www.CMLF.com or call 800-643-3779