The Heroes of Summer An interview with the Cape May Beach Patrol

The Heroes of Summer

We bet you didn’t know this, but the walls at the Rusty Nail can, in fact, talk. If you don’t believe us, take a trip down there sometime and take a listen, or rather, a look. A picture is worth a thousand words, and the walls at the Nail are lined with pictures of those who’ve dubbed it their unofficial home: The men and women of the Cape May Beach Patrol (CMBP). That’s right, the Rusty Nail has long been known as “the spot” to grab a beer, a bite, and relax after a long day protecting visitors along Cape May’s 2.3 miles of beach. On the walls are photos of generations and generations of lifeguards. The CMBP has been in existence almost as long as the concept of a “lifeguard,” and it continues to serve the same purpose that it did over a hundred years ago: To keep those bathing in the waters off of Cape May safe.

In the 19th century, swimming in the ocean became increasingly popular, and resorts started to emerge, especially along the New Jersey coastline. Places like Atlantic City and Cape May welcomed thousands of visitors each year, and seaside cities soon realized that they needed to adopt measures by which to keep swimmers safe. First, there was the “lifeline,” which was a rope tied to a pole in the water and another one on shore. In 1845 in Cape May these were known as “rescue ropes,” which were tied to bath houses. Swimmers could cling to the rope to bring themselves back to the sand. A problem was if the swimmers drifted too far from the line, it was nearly impossible to get back to it. Soon thereafter, whaleboats were stationed off the shore in the event that swimmers should find themselves in need of assistance. In 1865, private hotels hired crews to man surfboats during bathing hours. Rivalries, of course, developed between crews, and summer races were held to entertain and delight guests. And then, the “lifeguard” emerged.

Atlantic City is believed to have the oldest continuously running beach patrol, founded in 1891. In 1911, the Cape May Beach Patrol was established. Paid, professional lifeguards were hired to protect

Below A lifeguard stand and lifeboat at Cape May’s Cove Beach bathers under the direction of the first CMBP Captain, Tom Keenan. Since then, lifeguards in Cape May were individuals hired by the city, just like police and firefighters. From the beginning Cape May has been ahead of the curve when it comes to water safety. A year after the founding of the CMBP, the National Lifesaving Service was created. In 1914, Wilbert E. Longfellow established the American Red Cross Lifesaving, which “trained swimmers in lifesaving and resuscitation, and organized them to accept responsibility for supervision of bathing activities in their communities.”

In the Cape May Beach Patrol’s early days, they kept one registered nurse on staff. Ida Stevens was one of the longest-serving nurses, working for thirty-one years from 1931 until her retirement in 1962. Today, all lifeguards receive extensive medical and safety training, and all Lieutenants are Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs). And every single member of the beach patrol receives training in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and use of the Automated

External Defibrillator (AED) when they join the team. But even getting to that step is no easy task.

Anyone over the age of sixteen can apply to become a lifeguard, but first they have to prove they have what it takes to do the job. Cape May’s current Lifeguard Chief, Harry Back, was a rookie in 1992 and took the same test that aspiring CMBP members take today. “It’s exactly the same,” according to Chief Back, whose mother Diane worked at Congress Hall for many years.

So you want to be a lifeguard? First things first—can you swim? The test starts with a one-hundred-yard swim in a pool that must be completed in a minute and twenty-five seconds or less. If you pass that test, you move on to the next round. A five-hundredmeter swim in the ocean, followed by a seventy-five-meter straight-out swim that is timed.

Next comes another timed event: a run into the surf, about chest deep, where you touch a rope and run back to shore. Tired yet? Good—there’s only one more physical test. A quarter-mile run down the beach, a quick surf— dash into the water, run back out onto the sand, and then run back a quarter mile down the beach. That test is scored by place. If you get through all of that, then you move into the final phase of the process.

“That’s the most relevant part,” according to Chief Back. Candidates

Pictured A lifeguard comes ashore after a training exercise at Cape May’s Poverty Beach.

are brought in to be interviewed by the Lieutenants.

“What you are really trying to do there is gain some kind of feel for their character and their maturity level. Do they have what it takes to do the job we ask of them?” If the answer is yes, then the real work begins. New hires undergo a weeklong “Rookie School,” an onboarding process that is extensive and intense.

“It’s a forty-hour week of training on CPR, AED, first aid, and then you get into the whole nuts and bolts of the organization. Some of it is physical. The rest of the time is spent on education, education, education.”

According to Back, Rookie School not only covers the U.S. Lifesaving Guidelines, but also considers the conditions that are unique to Cape May.

“Every beach patrol runs rescues differently. Even if you’re a lifeguard coming from say… Ocean City. We make experienced guards coming from other towns go through Rookie School in order to learn our procedures and protocols and how we operate. Every town is going to be different all over the country, so we put in local training as well.”

Cape May is also unique because of its geography. As a peninsula located at the southern tip of New Jersey, it sits at the confluence of the Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, creating a different set of circumstances for

lateral currents.

“On incoming tide, the current is going to run from east to west. Outgoing tide, west to east. On a daily basis, that current is going to run three knots on a normal incoming and outgoing tide, which is pretty strong in and of itself, and then you throw other factors in.”

This all affects how lifeguards approach a save in Cape May, which Chief Back says is part of that initial training.

“That unique lateral current affects point of entry—how you’re going to get to that person from the beach. You need to know what the tide conditions are that day. Is it incoming or outgoing tide? If you try to swim straight out to someone, you’re not going to get to them, and you’re not going to chase someone down in a current. That’s the biggest difference between Cape May and even somewhere as close as Wildwood Crest. They’re not going to have that lateral current. Their currents are more in and out.”

Chief Back says that this commitment to education has put the Cape May Beach Patrol on the map as one of the most highly regarded organizations in the country. While a lot has stayed the same since his rookie year, other things have changed for the better.

“There’s been a lot of growth between where we were and where we are today.”

One of those changes is gender diversity. When Chief Back first became a lifeguard almost thirty years ago, there were one or two women on the beach patrol each summer. Today, forty percent of the force is made up of women, and the first female Lieutenant, Sara Werner, was named last summer. But the biggest change that the Chief has witnessed is the growth in education and national recognition.

“We’re always staying on top of

Pictured Virginia beach tents. Looking to rent a beach tent? Call the Concierge! (609) 884-6542 what’s new in the first aid world and with the U.S. Lifesaving Association (USLA). We have better trained lifeguards than we ever were. It’s definitely become a more professional organization, and I credit former Captain Buzz Mogck. He took Cape May and put it on the map in the United States.”

Harry “Buzz” Mogck retired from the CMBP in 2020, after serving as Captain and then Chief for forty years. (Captain was the highest distinction until 2017, when Chief was added by the city.) During his tenure, Mogck is credited with launching multiple safety initiatives, such as requiring EMT training for all Lieutenants and first aid and CPR training for all members, creating an after-hours rescue program, and introducing new rescue techniques like paddle boards and rescue cans, as well as surf chairs for visitors with limited mobility. In that time, Cape May played host to the USLA Lifeguard National

Championships six times, and more competitions between local Beach Patrols were born. Back considers himself lucky to have learned so much from former Chief Mogck, and to have been a part of the change.

“In Cape May I just saw firsthand how much we have grown professionally over the years, and it just really resonates with me.”

Along with Mogck, in his first full year as a Lieutenant, Back helped usher in the Junior Lifeguard program in 1992. The program is essentially a training camp for kids ages nine to sixteen. It’s proven to be an effective way to recruit new lifeguards who understand the kind of physical stamina, strength of character, grit and tenacity that it takes to be a member of the CMBP.

His own daughter is now fifteen and is “chomping at the bit,” as he puts it, to become a lifeguard after going through the program. The CMBP is in fact, a family affair for the Chief. He met his wife, Patrice, during her rookie year. She was a swimmer from the University of Delaware, who wasn’t allowed to take the test until she graduated from college. As soon as she did, she went to Cape May with a few friends from the swim team and the rest is history.

“We started dating a few years later during the offseason, and we just had so much in common. We got married September 21, 1996. And here we are, twenty-five years later.”

Their wedding reception was, of course, at the Rusty Nail.

“The Rusty Nail was the place to go since … forever. It was owned by the Hober family before, and they were really good to us. They respected what we did, they valued what the Beach Patrol meant to Cape May, and they went out of their way to make us feel comfortable and part of their family. Cape Resorts and Curtis have really gone out of their way to keep that. It still has that feeling. It’s still the lifeguard place to go.”

But before they can kick back and relax with a beer at the bar, lifeguards spend the day, well, saving lives. It all begins at the crack of dawn with a workout. Lifting weights, running, a swim in surf, and a row through the waves in a lifeguard boat. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., they’re watching the water from twenty-six lifeguard stands along the beach. About ten stands were added in the past thirty years, in response to the beach itself changing from beach replenishment, which began in 1990. On any given day, from fifty-five to sixty lifeguards are on duty, with ninety-six staffed for the summer. It’s a seasonal job, so during the rest of the year lifeguards

have a variety of occupations. For many years, Back and his wife were professors in the Wellness Studies Department at Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York. Although his wife continues to teach, Chief Back now runs his own business in Cape May. To say that he “runs” it is the only way to describe his work, because he is the founder and proprietor of the Cape May Running Company. The Company has a retail store on Beach Avenue, and also organizes local charity races and events. Other lifeguards’ off-season jobs run the gamut—everything from schoolteachers to waiters, biologists to filmmakers. Back has observed that many men and women choose their off-season jobs for the flexibility the provide to return to the Beach Patrol in the summer.

“It’s an easy job to fall in love with,” he says with a smile.

Last summer, between Memorial Day and Labor Day, the Cape May Beach Patrol performed around three hundred and seventy-five saves.

“We are a 100 percent preventative beach patrol. We try to prevent those rescues from happening,” says the Chief. “But it’s the ocean.” Anything can happen, and when it does, the CMBP is there, prepared to snap into action.

Besides saving lives, the local lifeguards pride themselves on being approachable to guests of Cape May.

“People always want to know where to have a good dinner or a good meal. Who are you going to ask? A lifeguard would be sure to know.”

And where does Chief Back send them?

“For me, the Rusty Nail always has a lot of fond memories,” he admits.

“You look at the walls and see the pictures and think, ‘aw that young man or that young woman was a junior lifeguard and now they’re on the patrol.’ I just think that’s neat. To have that history on the wall. It’s nostalgic and special to me.”

Like many visitors to Cape May, it’s more than just a building with four walls.

“It was a big part of my young adulthood, to my marriage, and continuing from there. You don’t have a lot of places in life like that where you walk in and feel like—‘ah, I’m home.’”

Special thanks to Chief Harry Back and historian Ben Miller for their expertise and input to this article.

In memory of Norman V. Inferrera III