Author: Jenn Manes

Hello everyone, and happy Wednesday! I thought I would take some time today to give you an update on what’s currently happening here on St. John, as well as some info on upcoming events.

Let’s start with the weather… it’s warm and sunny! Did you expect anything less??! The average temperature has been around 85 degrees over the past few days, which means you really should go ahead and start browsing airfare prices! Come visit us this winter!

Christmas is less than two weeks away, so many of you know what that means. The Christmas Winds are here, and they’ve arrived right on time this year. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Christmas Winds, the winds kick up here each year in December, just in time for Christmas. The Sir Francis Channel, the body of water that separates St. John from Tortola, was full of white caps yesterday, and some of the north shore beaches were rather wavy too. The breeze feels great to me, but it’s affecting some visibility when snorkeling, and boat trips are expected to be a little bumpy this week.

On the restaurant front, I have good news, and I have bad news. The good news is that ZoZo’s reopens for this season this evening, and they have reduced their prices. ZoZo’s offers a four-course prix fixe menu in the dining room and an à la carte menu at the bar and in the lounge. The prix fixe menu is $125 a person, down from $140 a person last season.

Another great spot, the Lovango Resort + Beach Club, reopens on Monday, December 18th. This is a great place to enjoy a day at the pool at their Beach Club, indulge in some good eats and drinks at their waterfront restaurant, or perhaps spend the night in one of their new cottages or treehouses. (Click here to read about a previous day I spent at their Beach Club.)

The sad news is that we are down to Quiet Mon’s last week. If you are lucky enough to be on island, make sure you pop in at some point this week. (Click here to read a recent story about this.)

The All Island Holiday Party, also known as The Prom, is scheduled for this Saturday, December 16th. It will be held in the courtyard at Mongoose Junction starting at 9 p.m. And looking ahead to next week, The Tap Room will hold its annual Sweater Party on Wednesday, December 20th.

Sunset is happening at 5:44 p.m. tonight, and Cruz Bay beach is the place to be. Grab a seat at High Tide, La Tapa, Rum Hut or The Beach Bar, and watch the colors light up the sky. Not here in person? You can still catch a glimpse of a Cruz Bay sunset on the famous St. John Spice Cam or The Beach Bar’s beach cam. You can see both of those and nearly two dozen more on Explore STJ’s webcams page at www.explorestj.com/webcams.

And before I leave you today, I wanted to share a pretty funny picture with you all. It appears that my son Dalton crashed the Mermen of St. John calendar signing photoshoot last weekend. The following picture showed up on social media, and completely cracked me up! Full disclosure here: I was off island, and daddy clearly lost him on the beach for a few minutes. Luckily a few of those mermen and Katie Rock, owner of Drink, kept an eye on him for us.

If you haven’t checked out this calendar yet, you can do so online at Mermaid Swim VI’s website.

That’s all I have for you today, folks. Have a great day everyone!

Want to learn more about St. John? Take an island tour with us!

Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.

Follow Explore STJ on Social Media

–> www.facebook.com/explorestj

–> www.instagram.com/explorestj

You know you live in an amazing place when the world’s 2nd largest, newly-built sailing yacht chooses your backyard as its first vacation destination in the United States.

Koru is a 416-foot sailing yacht that was commissioned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. It reportedly cost $500 million to build and is accompanied by Abeona, its 246-foot support vessel. Both boats are currently anchored near Mingo Cay, which is roughly a five-minute boat ride from Cruz Bay. This is the same area where The Rising Sun, David Geffen’s 453-foot mega yacht, spent time last month. (Click here to read that story.)

Koru, a Maori word meaning “new beginnings”, is the largest boat ever built in the Netherlands. It was delivered in April and spent time in the Mediterranean before making the 4,400-mile crossing to the United States. It arrived in Ft. Lauderdale on November 22nd where it was forced to dock in a seaport beside oil tankers and a cruise ship due to its massive size. It arrived in St. Thomas on December 5th and spent five days in Charlotte Amalie before sailing over to us.

Koru is reportedly one of the most ecological megayachts in the world due to its sails and technology on board.

Abeona, its “dinghy”, will serve as a support boat, essentially a toy hauler. It will carry luxury cars, smaller boats, a helicopter, and additional crew.

Is this boat excessive? Yes. Did many of us shop way too often on Amazon, which in a way contributed to its creation? Yes. However it is a beautifully-designed sailboat, and it’s pretty darn cool that they chose to come here for their first vacation on this side of the world. Those of us who call St. John home are pretty darn lucky, and those of you who are able to visit this beautiful island are pretty darn lucky too.

Have a beautiful day everyone, and a big thanks to Palm Tree Charters for these great pics.

Want to learn more about St. John? Take an island tour with us!

Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.

Follow Explore STJ on Social Media

–> www.facebook.com/explorestj

–> www.instagram.com/explorestj

The big man himself is scheduled to make an appearance in Cruz Bay this evening, and it’s all for an amazing cause!

The Animal Care Center is hosting a Yappy Hour fundraising event tonight at The Beach Bar from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The event is to raise funds for the island’s no-kill animal shelter.

Dogs and their humans are invited to this event, as well as anyone else who wants to come and support this amazing organization. The Animal Care Center addresses the problem of cruelty to, neglect, and abuse of island animals. The shelter provides kennels for homeless dogs and inside cages for a limited number of homeless cats. It successfully adopts countless animals every year.

The Animal Care Center is a stable resource for the community, providing a no-kill shelter for homeless animals, a resource for animal lovers to find perfect pets, programs for island needs, and a community educational component.

Not on island tonight? No problem! You can check out the event by watching The Beach Bar’s new panoramic beach cam. You can see it at www.explorestj.com/webcams.

Looking to donate? Every dollar helps! You can make a monetary donation securely on the Animal Care Center’s website at www.stjohnanimalcarecenter.com/donate.

You can also purchase items on the Animal Care Center’s Wish List on Amazon. They are looking for items like cat and dog food, toys, treats, and more. Click here to view their Wish List.