If you love our sea turtles as much as I do, this opportunity may be for you!
Friends of Virgin Islands National Park are looking for volunteers to join this year’s turtle patrol. You will have to be on island from July through August, so this opportunity is best for residents or long-term visitors. The volunteers will adopt a beach that they will patrol weekly, looking for any signs of turtle nesting activity.
Not on island for that long? You can still help protect our turtles! If you see a turtle, please do not touch them and stay at least six feet away from them when snorkeling. Please report any signs of nesting activity to the Virgin Islands National Park. Always use reef-safe sunscreen. And please throw away all trash, particularly single-use plastics like bags and straws.
Nearly 2,000 hatchlings made it into the ocean in 2022. Let’s hope we can surpass that number this year!
If you’d like to join the turtle patrol, please email Friends of Virgin Islands National Park at vinpturtles@friendsvinp.org.
Is anyone in the market for a private island? All you need is a mere $25 million and a beautiful one right near Cruz Bay can be yours!
I had an impromptu boat trip with Flyaway Charters yesterday afternoon, and we were cruising around the cays north of St. John. When we passed Thatch Cay, I mentioned how it’s listed for $25 million. Leah, the owner of Flyaway Charters, was surprised and hadn’t heard that, so I figured many of you probably haven’t either. So here are the details…
Image credit: Christie’s International
Thatch Cay is located northwest of Cruz Bay. It is 230 acres and is one of the last private islands in the US Virgin Islands. It is completely undeveloped but has dramatic views and a beautiful rugged coastline.
The island is dotted with Tyre Palms throughout, which is the island’s namesake. The Tyre Palm, also known as a thatch palm, is the only remaining native palm tree in the US Virgin Islands.
(Fun fact: Leah’s son is named Thatch. He will enter preschool at Gifft Hill in the fall.)
The island is currently zoned for residential development, which allows up to six dwellings across three parcels.
I took a little video for you all yesterday. Please check it out:
Maybe if we all chipped in about $1,000, we could buy this together! What do you think??!! 🙂
For those of you who are truly interested or simply want to learn more about the available real estate here on St. John, please check out Explore STJ’s Business page at www.explorestj.com/businesses. Scroll down to see a few realtors that we recommend.
In the meantime, have a wonderful day everyone!
Looking to take a St. John island tour?
Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.
I was out and about with my island tour guests the other day when I spotted what I thought could be a flamingo eating in a salt pond near the road to Lameshur bays. I pulled over to get a closer look and was ecstatic to see one beautiful pink flamingo eating in the pond.
You may recall back in February when I told you all how a flamboyance of flamingos was spending time at the salt pond behind Salt Pond Bay. It was such an exciting story to tell because it is not common to have flamingos here on St. John these days. In fact, I can only think of a handful of times that a flamingo has been spotted on the island in the last decade.
I came to learn that flamingos are actually native, but all were eaten or lost to development until the reintroduction on Anegada in the British Virgin Islands back in 1992. I wasn’t certain if these flamingos were making a quick visit or if they were here to stay. Well, it seems that at least one is here to stay!
I took the following video on Sunday afternoon. 🙂
I have heard that the flamingos have been spending time between the salt pond behind Salt Pond Bay and this one, which is near Grootpan Bay. So if you happen to be in that part of the island anytime soon, keep your eyes open for these beautiful birds.
Preparing to submerge the Tektite habitat in Lameshur Bay in 1969. Photo credit: NOAA
A little-known experiment happened here on St. John in the late 1960s and again in 1970. The project was fascinating and a first of its kind. The Navy, NASA, and the Department of Interior joined forces to create an underwater habitat that allowed scientists to stay submerged in the ocean for an extended period of time. The experiments, dubbed Tektite I and II, were conducted deep in the waters of Great Lameshur Bay on St. John’s south shore. Tektite not only allowed scientists to study marine life in its natural habitat for an extended period of time, but it also allowed them to test how people would react to long missions in an isolated setting. This information would be used to help NASA with regard to its upcoming space flights.
Tektite was an underwater laboratory that consisted of two metal silos, which were connected by a flexible tunnel. The silos were 12-and-a-half feet wide by 18 feet high. The habitat contained bunks, a galley, a shower, and an experiment area among other elements. The habitat, which General Electric built, was placed in 49 feet of water on the ocean floor.
Barging in the Tektite habitat – Photo credit: NOAA
The mission of Tektite I was threefold. The Navy was interested in the study of diving physiology and small-crew psychology for future submersible and saturated diving missions and advances that could be made in ocean technology. The Navy was the lead agency for Tektite I.
NASA’s primary interest in Tektite I was the study of the performance of highly qualified scientists under conditions of stress for use in understanding and predicting man’s behavior on long-duration space flights.
The Department of the Interior wanted to learn about the use of saturated diving to broaden man’s capability to conduct scientific work in the sea.
On February 15th, 1969, four scientists – a fishery biologist, a geologist, and two oceanographers – descended to the ocean floor. They returned to the surface on April 15th, 1969. The experiment set a world record for the longest time a person remained underwater.
The scientists – Ed Clifton, Conrad Mahnken, Richard Waller, and John VanDerwalker – were not limited to the habitat for the 60-day period. During the mission, they spent 432 hours outside their habitat. They swam out on a daily basis to study a variety of sea life, although there was a particular focus on the spiny lobster. They were studying how it moves, eats, and survives in our waters.
Now you may be wondering why the Navy, NASA, and the Department of Interior conducted this experiment on St. John, specifically the Lameshur Bay area. Great Lameshur was chosen because the water is relatively shallow, there are low subsurface water currents in the area, and it is sheltered from potential storms. It was chosen due to the vast diversity of marine plant and animal species, which is enhanced by the extensive coral reefs in the area. Finally, it was chosen due to the logistics supportability.
Illustration credit: St. John Historical Society
Tektite I was deemed a success, however, the experiment didn’t end when the four men surfaced in April 1969. A second experiment was conducted the following year, and it, too, set world records. Stay tuned for part two of this story, which will include details on Tetkite II, plus other interesting facts about these experiments and its nearby base camp.
But in the meantime, for those of you who are curious whether any of the structure remains, the answer, sadly, is no. It was removed after the completion of the Tektite II experiment. More on that to come…
Looking to take a St. John island tour?
Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.
Here is a pretty Cruz Bay pic, because it’s been years since I’ve gotten a pic of the 8 Tuff Miles race! 🙂
I have great news to share with you all today! The popular 8 Tuff Miles road race is finally returning in its official capacity for 2024, and registration opens one month from today! The race is scheduled for Saturday, February 24th, so start making plans friends!
The 8 Tuff Miles event is a fun event for both runners and non-runners like myself. 🙂 The course starts behind the National Park Visitor’s Center in Cruz Bay, and goes along Centerline Road (Route 10 on the map) all the way out to the ballfield in Coral Bay. The course is 8.3 miles long. It starts at sea level and gains 1,000 feet of elevation and ends back down at sea level. But anyone who has driven Centerline Road before knows it’s not a simple up-and-down course. It’s up and down, and up and down, and up and down, and so forth. 🙂
There are water stations positioned along the way, which is a fun way for us non-runners to get in on the action. My friends and I are always at the last water station, which is just up the hill from the ballfield. We hand out water and Gatorade to the real runners, and then we hand out shots to the fun runners and walkers – beer shots, Painkiller shots, you name it!
This is the first official 8 Tuff Miles race since February 2020, so we are long overdue!
So as I mentioned, registration opens on July 1st. You can learn more at www.8tuffmiles.com. I hope to see you all there!
Looking to take a St. John island tour?
Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.
You can now sit here an hour earlier during the week!
Hello everyone, and happy Wednesday! Today’s post will be short and sweet. A couple of the island’s most popular restaurants recently expanded their hours!
Let’s start in Cruz Bay. The Beach Bar now opens at 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. This means you can get a Bushwacker or a bite to eat an hour earlier these days. Should you have a Bushwacker every day at 10? Probably not. But is it ok when you’re on vacation? Of course it is!
They’re open even earlier on the weekends, too. The Beach Bar serves breakfast on the weekends only, beginning at 9 a.m.
Can’t get to The Beach Bar in person? No problem! They have a live webcam and radio station, which is the next best thing! You can check out The Beach Bar’s bar cam, beach cam, and live music cam over on Explore STJ’s webcam page at www.explorestj.com/webcams.
Lovango Rum Bar has also expanded their hours to include daytime online ordering for its delicious pizzas. You can now place an online order starting at 11:30 a.m. Monday through Friday. They accept online orders on the weekends beginning at 3 p.m. Click here to check out lovangorumtogo.com.
Miss Lucy’s is trying to expand their hours to include Thursday lunch, but they need kitchen staff to make this happen. Who wants to come down and work in paradise??
That’s it for today, folks! Have a great day!
Looking to take a St. John island tour?
Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.
