Everything You Need To Know in Ocean City This Week

Ahoy! We’re one week out from the unofficial start of summer. Dozens of business people will unlock the ocean next Friday at high noon by marching into it wearing suits just behind the Music Pier.

And we’ll be here with you all summer. Look for our banner plane flying high over the beach. If you see it, post a pic on social media tagging @walkingtheboards on Instagram. You’ll get an extra entry into our free one-week vacation giveaway for 2024.

In the email today:

📆 Upcoming events

🐻 Mayor smash!

🔗 News links

🐺 More coyotes reported in OC

🥤 New store alert: Groovy Smoovie

🏠 Real estate update

🔥 Agent hot takes on new listings

🛟 Beach patrol tryout

🎟 Tickets and discounts

🌊 Weather and tides

📆 Upcoming Events in (and around) Ocean City

• May 20th

  • Town-wide Yard Sale (Sea Isle)

    • When: 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

    • Where: The whole damn town!

    • Description: Yard sale across Sea Isle. List of participating addresses here.

• May 21st

  • OCNJ Triathlon/Duathlon

    • When: 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

    • Where: Aquatic and Fitness Center

    • Description: 1/4 mile Pool Swim, 2M Run/16M Bike/2M Run. Plus a kids course 1/8 mile swim, 1m run/8m bike/1m run. Pool Swim start 6 a.m.- 8 a.m. Run/Bike/Run starts 9 a.m. Registration here.

• May 26th

  • Unlocking of the Ocean and Business Persons Plunge

    • When: 12:00 p.m.

    • Where: Moorlyn Terrace Street Beach (Music Pier)

    • Description: Participants dress in business suits, carry brief cases and march into the ocean to the strains of Pomp and Circumstance to welcome the new season.

• May 27th

  • Memorial Beach Challenge for 31 Heroes

    • When: 7:30 a.m. and onward

    • Where: 9th Street Beach

    • Description: The main obstacle course challenge is a soft sand adventure race followed by kid’s fun run. Registration here.

Other events to look forward to: Wonder’s Birthday Bash at Gillian’s Wonderland Pier (June 1), Flower Show (June 2-3)

🤳 News Bits

Mayor Smash!

Naturally this came out last week moments after I hit send, but it’s still relevant today.

Mayor Gillian responds in detail to Orsted’s lawsuit against the city for not giving the offshore wind developer a permit to lay transmission lines under 35th Street:

Well played.

Meanwhile, the environmental impact statement for two more proposed windmill farms - located off Atlantic County - is now available for public comment.

Here’s what you need to know:

News Links 🔗

• Ocean City will now limit cell phone towers to city-owned property or existing utility poles— the ruling doesn’t impact a proposed installation atop the Compass Real Estate building owned by Eustace Mita on 33rd and Haven 📴

• Another quick response to complaints: the city reversed a plan for year-round parking meters downtown 🅿️

• The city will now allow for trash drop-off on Sunday evenings to support weekend residents who don’t want to leave their trash cans outside all week 🚮

Coyotes 🐺

Ahhhhoooooooooo! Coyotes of Ocean City.

Doesn’t have the same ring as the Warren Zevon hit, but here we are.

Yet another report of a coyote spotted in Ocean City.

Last time it was Corson’s Inlet and 55th street. This time it’s 33rd and Asbury 😳.

We’ve reached out to the city’s animal control officer to see if he has any information.

Worth noting, coyotes generally don't want to bother with humans. But they’re not exactly foxes either. They can be dangerous, or carry rabies. Don’t feed them if you hear them howling around your kitchen door.

🥤 New Store Alert: Groovy Smoovies

Stop us if you’re heard this one before: A new smoothie shop is coming to Ocean City.

But this one has two unique twists:

1) It is Hollywood-themed

2) It co-owned by former Eagle Shawn Andrews

The store will host its grand opening on May 25 from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. at 611 E. 8th Street.

Who knows, maybe if you drink enough of Andrews’ smoothies you can get your Michael Phelps on.

🏠 Real Estate Update

If you would like to opt-in, just click the subscribe button right here— our first newsletter goes out next week:

We wrote about this dip in April median sale prices last week. But there is some further nationwide context to add: the average nationwide sale price dropped 1.7% YoY in April, the largest year-over-year price decline since January, 2012.

Also down: total sales volume. It was down 23.2% nationally in April.

As it relates to Ocean City, April may have just been a blip. The $830k median sale price last month has bounced to nearly $1 million through 50 sales in April:

A combination of factors are keeping the market in tension. High interest rates are keeping inventory low as sellers don’t want to list their property and lose their low interest rate mortgages. But the 6%-6.5% rates are also making affordability a problem for some. It’s a stressed equilibrium right now. Feels like if something breaks we could see a dramatic swing.

Still, our on-staff agent reports that premium homes in Ocean City are still going very fast.

Agent Hot Takes on New Listings 🔥

Read all of our takes on the latest new listings over at our new work-in-progress real estate site ShoreCribs.com.

🛟 Beach Patrol Tryout

The Ocean City Beach Patrol will hold a tryout for new lifeguards on Saturday, June 3, 2023.

All candidates also must complete an interview. Candidates must turn at least 16 years old by July 15, 2023 and complete a physical examination before the tryout.

Test Events (subject to change)

• 500-meter box swim

• 500-meter box paddle

• 1/2-mile beach run

• 500-meter erg

• Surf Dash (short sprint from beach to stomach-deep water and back)

• Interview

Candidates must be extremely good-looking and possess the ability to small talk with teenage girls all day without seeming like they’re actually interested in them but really they are and they’ve just perfected the art of playing hard to get.*

*not an official qualification but, really, it is

More details here.

🎟 Tickets and Discounts

• Get $30 seasonal beach tags before the city updates to $35 on June 1. There is a $5 shipping fee on each order, but you can order up to 10 tags at once. Get them here.

• The OC Pops summer schedule is complete. You can view all their shows and get tickets here.

Want to advertise here? Just reply to this email and we’ll respond to your request.

🌊 Weather and Tides

The 10-day forecast is coming into view. Early returns show a decent (high 60s, low 70s) Memorial Day Weekend with not much rain.

As always, we recommend getting up-to-date forecasts from THE GOAT of South Jersey weather, NorEaster Nick, directly on his Facebook page.

Tides (9th Street):

• Friday (5/19)

  • Low: 2:34 AM

  • High: 8:25 AM

  • Low: 2:27 PM

  • High: 8:43 PM

• Saturday (5/20)

  • Low: 3:20 AM

  • High: 9:09 AM

  • Low: 3:08 PM

  • High: 9:23 PM

• Sunday (5/21)

  • Low: 4:05 AM

  • High: 9:53 AM

  • Low: 3:49 PM

  • High: 10:04 PM

• Monday (5/22)

  • Low: 4:50 AM

  • High: 10:36 AM

  • Low: 4:30 PM

  • High: 10:45 PM

• Tuesday (5/23)

  • Low: 5:35 AM

  • High: 11:21 AM

  • Low: 5:12 PM

  • High: 11:27 PM

• Wednesday (5/24)

  • Low: 6:22 AM

  • High: 12:09 PM

  • Low: 5:57 PM

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Thanks! Enjoy the weekend.