For those of you who have flown into the islands recently, you may have seen what looked like an oil slick out of the airplane window, clumps of a rust-colored mass floating throughout the water. What you’re seeing is sargassum seaweed, and it’s pretty common to see more and more of it during this time of year.
Sargassum is a type of seaweed that floats in large masses in the ocean. It’s a brownish, copper-like color, and it has air-filled bladders which helps it stay afloat on the water’s surface. Sargassum affects St. John every year, and we typically see more of it as the water starts to warm up prior to the summer months. I started noticing it a bit more over the past week, but, luckily, it has not been affecting any of St. John’s most popular beaches.
St. John’s winds typically blow from east to west. Most of St. John’s most popular beaches – Caneel, Hawksnest, Trunk, Cinnamon and Maho – face either north or west. This means that the sargassum usually blows right by these beaches. It rarely piles up on any of them. St. Thomas, however, has more of a problem with the sargassum clogging up its beaches, as the Ritz Carlton, Margaritaville and Sapphire all face east. The sargassum floats right onto those beaches, and when it dries up, it can get quite stinky.
There is currently quite a bit of sargassum in Fish Bay, and I saw some over in Coral Bay this week, as well. Other than that, we’re looking pretty good here in St. John.
If the sargassum becomes problematic, I will definitely let you all know. But as of today, our beaches remain beautiful and seaweed-free. 🙂
Want to learn more about St. John? Take an island tour with me!
Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour
See the island of St. John with a longtime resident. See the nooks and crannies that many visitors miss. Explore the beaches, historical sites, perhaps a tiki bar or two, and much more. Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.