Hello everyone, and happy Tuesday! Not a ton happens on island during slow season, so this is pretty big news! The Rum Hut sold, and work is already underway to put a new restaurant in that spot.
Word started spreading around the island last Sunday that The Rum Hut (formerly known as Joe’s Rum Hut prior to the storms) sold. Demolition began Monday morning. Word around the island is that it will be a high end sushi restaurant. I haven’t been able to confirm that, so only time will tell!
From what I can see, they have already demo’d the entire bar and the large desk area that is located in the interior courtyard-like area of the restaurant (in front of Wharfside Watersports and The Parrot Club). Check out a few pics we took over the past week:
SundaySunday – The bar is no more.Sunday
Wow!
As always, I will keep you posted on what’s happening over here. In the meantime, have a great day everyone!
Want to learn more about St. John? Looking to take an island tour?
Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tourSee the island of St. John with a 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.
Spend your days taking guests to amazing places like Saba Rock in Virgin Gorda.
This story was updated on Dec. 9, 2024.
I know that many of you would like to own a business on St. John, and this could be your chance!
Sunshine Daydream Boat Charters is available for sale, and it recently had a dramatic price reduction! This St. John-based company has been in business for more than nine years and has a large, loyal clientele with numerous repeat guests. This makes it the ultimate turn-key business with an immediate return on investment.
What’s Included in the Sale
Three professionally-maintained, newer model power boats. (All are less than five years old.)
The Yamaha 300hP engines have been professionally maintained by Offshore Marine since new.
Each boat has its own 8.5′ West Marine inflatable dinghy powered by a 6hp Yamaha engine. (All are less than three years old.)
Each boat has its own triple axle trailer that’s in great shape.
Three mooring balls. (This is very hard to acquire in St. John.)
About the Business
Received TripAdvisor’s Travelers’ Choice Award for nine consecutive years
Great reviews!
800+ 5-Star reviews on TripAdvisor
425+ 5-star reviews on Google
Strong social media presence
13,000+ Instagram followers
11,000+ Facebook followers
Your next career may take you to the beautiful turquoise waters around St. John and the British Virgin Islands. Not a bad office if you ask me!
Want to Know More?
Sunshine Daydream Boat Charters is listed with Tammy Donnelly at 340 Real Estate Co. for $1.5 million. Feel free to contact me, Jenn Manes, for more information. Call or text 203-376-3786 or email jenn@explorestj.com with any questions. I am a licensed realtor with 340 Real Estate Co.
If you are looking to purchase or sell a home, condo, land, timeshare or business in St. John, I would love to help you! Feel free to reach out to me at anytime, and we can chat.
Want to learn more about St. John? Looking to take an island tour?
Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tourSee the island of St. John with a 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.
I’ve received a lot of questions about whether the National Park is open. I’ve also received numerous emails from people with upcoming vacations, asking if they should visit the island. The quick answer to both is yes and yes. Read on if you’d like to know more. 🙂
Let’s start with the National Park. Yes, it sustained a decent amount of damage with numerous downed trees and some slides. As of Friday morning, the entrance to Caneel Bay remains closed. The Caneel Bay Beach Club at Honeymoon Beach remains closed. Taxi service from the entrance of Caneel to Honeymoon is temporarily suspended. If you would like to visit Honeymoon today, you are able to do so via the Lind Point Trail or by water. The Caneel Bay Beach Club is expected to reopen this weekend. Taxi service to Honeymoon will resume once clean up in that area is completed.
The campground and concessions at Cinnamon Bay reopened last night. The concessions at Trunk Bay reopened Thursday. The Visitor Center in Cruz Bay will reopen today.
A downed tree at Cinnamon Bay. Image credit: Steve Simonsen Photograph
I received an email last night from a repeat guest asking if it is too soon to visit the island. She is scheduled to fly in this week. The answer is unequivocally, no. Power is restored to most of the island. There are a few pockets like Ajax Peak and Carolina that remain without power. (There may be more, but those are the two I am aware of.) Hopefully both are restored today. The island is a little messy in some areas, but people are working hard to fix that.
St. John is a community that relies on tourism. We welcome you. 🙂
That’s all I have for today. Have a fantastic weekend everyone!
Want to learn more about St. John? Looking to take an island tour?
Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tourSee the island of St. John with a 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.
Power has been restored on a section of feeder 7e from Frank Bay to Mongoose Junction.
Aug. 14, 1:30 p.m. update
The airport is open. Flights are arriving, but many are delayed.
The seaports remain closed. There are numerous reports of lost and sunken boats. The Coast Guard needs to inspect everything before it can safely open the ports. Ferry and barge service remains suspended.
St. John is still without power. Portions of St. Thomas are back online.
Aug. 14, 2024, 1030 a.m. update
The airport will open today at noon.
The seaports remain closed. The Coast Guard is currently assessing the waters.
Aug. 14, 2024, 9 a.m. update
The worst of the winds have passed through St. John, although rain and wind will continue throughout the day today. The rain is coming down extremely hard at the moment (8:45 a.m.).
Wind gusts officially peaked around 70 miles per hour last night, although some of my friends who are on island believe the gusts were higher than that. At least three-and-a-half inches of rain fell in St. John so far.
Power is currently out territory-wide. St. John, St. Thomas and St. Croix are all 100 percent without power.
All ports remain closed. There is no ferry or barge service currently. There airport remains closed. The Governor is expected to provide an update on the status of the airports and seaports today at 10 a.m.
Tree limbs and power lines are down around the island. There is at least one boat sinking in Chocolate Hole. At least four boats in Coral Bay are aground or ashore. Big limbs fell on a few of my friend’s cars, but everyone is ok. Areas of North Shore Road are pretty much impassable due to downed trees. There is a lot of very deep standing water in front of Starfish Market and the tennis courts. This is an area known to flood.
Several boats are aground or ashore in Coral Bay. Image credit: Flyaway ChartersSome limbs are down at our house, but everything is ok.
If you have a flight scheduled for today, check out FlightAware.com. Type in your flight number. Then click Track Inbound Flight. If that flight is not en route, your flight is not leaving today. That’s the easiest way to check.
Today is clearly not a beach day, but tomorrow may be. If you are on vacation and plan to go to the beach, be aware that there may be a good amount of runoff flowing into the beaches. It is not advisable to go in the water when there is runoff.
That’s all I have of now. I will post more later today. Thanks all! -Jenn
Want to learn more about St. John? Looking to take an island tour?
Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tourSee the island of St. John with a 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.
Tropical Storm Ernesto has strengthened a bit more than I anticipated. As of 2 p.m., the maximum sustained winds are 60 miles per hour. The Virgin Islands are under a hurricane watch, which means that hurricane force winds are possible in the next 12 hours. All of that being said, the island is preparing.
The St. Thomas airport closed at 4 p.m.
Ports will close at 6 p.m. The last ferry from Cruz Bay will depart at 5 p.m. The last ferry from St. Thomas will depart at 5:30 p.m.
Lots of businesses in Cruz Bay, including numerous restaurants, are closing early today or have closed. Safety first!
I am currently in Connecticut for a mini vacation with Dalton, and thankfully, our little Fish Bay house is boarded up. A BIG thank you to Scott Taylor for getting that done for us! Many of you probably know Scott’s wife Kim, who bartends over at Beach Bar. So much love to you both!
I know many of you love St. John as much as I do, and want to keep an eye on this storm and what’s happening on island. Here are several important links:
Check out our webcams to see what’s happening in Cruz Bay.
It’s that time of year, folks! St. John is currently under a tropical storm warning.
There is currently a tropical system to the east of St. John. It is not very organized at the moment, but it is forecasted to strengthen a bit before arriving in St. John and the Virgin Islands sometime tomorrow. The system will affect the Territory through Wednesday before moving out of the region.
Screenshot from Living Earth app
As of now (8 a.m. Monday morning), it looks like the highest wind gusts will stay under 45 miles per hour. The strongest winds will be Wednesday morning as of now, but that can change. There will be a significant amount of rain with this system, potentially between four and six inches for the USVI and BVI.
Screenshot from Windy appFrom National Hurricane Center
If you would like to see the current conditions on St. John, please check out Explore STJ’s webcam page at www.explorestj.com/webcams. You can see live views from Cruz Bay, Coral Bay, the ferry dock, The Windmill Bar, The Beach Bar, and more.
That’s it for now. I will keep you all posted on this!
Want to learn more about St. John? Looking to take an island tour?
Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tourSee the island of St. John with a 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.
