I have received so many questions regarding sargassum seaweed that I decided to start posting weekly updates for all of you. Scroll down to see where I have seen sargassum piling up, if at all, over the past week here on St. John.
Want to learn more about sargassum? Click here to read a recent post I wrote.
July 18, 2023 Update
I am happy to report thatthe sargassum near Trunk Bay is gone. Woohoo! There is a small amount lining the beach at Jumbie, but the rest of the north shore beaches remain sargassum-free. Salt Pond and Little Lameshur also had very little sargassum when I was over there earlier this week.
I saw the largest amount of sargassum near John’s Folly, which is en route to Salt Pond. There was also a fair amount in teh bay near Miss Lucy’s.
Fish Bay and Coral Bay have some too, but a good chunk of it has sunk. There is a bit of a smell when passing both areas.
I’m heading out again today and will let you know if I see any changes. Thanks all!
July 15, 2023 Update
Hello everyone! It’s been a bit since I posted a sargassum update, so here we are! 🙂
There is sargassum floating around the island, but it really isn’t that bad, and it is not affecting the most popular beaches here on St. John. I did see a few very small islands of it floating around the shore at Trunk Bay yesterday. There was some lining the beach at Jumbie, but that was it on the North Shore from what I could see.
(The haze in the pictures above is the Saharan dust which is currently in the area. Click here to read more about that.)
There is still some over in Fish Bay and Coral Bay, but neither of those spots are places where we swim.
I had island tour guests visiting from Margaritaville over in St. Thomas earlier this week, and they said that the sargassum was very bad over there, and that makes sense. The winds here typically blow east to west, which means they are blowing directly toward Margaritaville, Sapphire, and the Ritz, for example.
I am heading out to Lameshur today, so will post an update from there soon.
June 13, 2023 Update
The sargassum is definitely still here. If you are out on the water, you are going to see it floating all over the place. An island tour guest told me that the Crown Bay ferry even had to move docks due to an abundance of sargassum at that marina. You will likely see it out the window when you are flying into St. Thomas too. It almost looks like oil slicks in the water below.
The good news is that it still is not affecting our more popular beaches. Cruz Bay, the hub of St. John, remains sargassum-free. I visit or drive past Hawksnest, Gibney, Oppenheimer, Trunk, Cinnamon, Maho, and Francis nearly every day, and all are sargassum-free. The last time I saw sargassum affecting those beaches was back in April. So there is no need to worry there.
There has been sargassum piling up on the shores in Coral Bay on and off for the last several weeks. The odor around the dumpsters has been especially pungent too over the last week or so.
Hansen and Saltwell Bottom are generally sargassum-free. There is some on the shore of Borck Creek out in Hurricane Hole. I have also seen a ton over in Fish Bay and Hart Bay too. The smell at the entrance of Fish Bay isn’t amazing because of this. Little Lameshur had some piled up on the west side of the beach when I was out there last week. I have not been to Salt Pond recently, so I am not sure what the status is over there.
Sargassum truly is not something you should be concerned about when you visit St. John. The winds typically blow it past all of our more popular beaches. If something changes, I will definitely let you all know. 🙂
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June 1, 2023 Update
My island tour guests mentioned yesterday that they enjoyed my sargassum updates, so here is a new one! 🙂
The island continues to look very good. There is definitely a large amount of sargassum floating around the island, but it is not impacting any of the more popular beaches like Hawksnest, Trunk, Cinnamon, Maho or Francis.
I did see a large amount of sargassum pooling on the shore out in Coral Bay yesterday. It was located in the area near Salty Mongoose and Surf Club Cantina. It isn’t stinky, so it’s not really affecting much out there.
I also saw a large amount in Hart Bay yesterday as I was driving down Gifft Hill.
So all in all, more great news!
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May 19th Update
All of the popular beaches continue to be free of sargassum. Great news!
May 9th Update
Good news! The sargassum that we saw on the more popular beaches – Honeymoon, Trunk Bay, and Cinnamon, for example – is gone. We still have some sargassum in the area, but it is no longer affecting the popular North Shore beaches. There is a bit dried up on some, but it is not affecting anyone’s beach days.
Over the past few days, I have seen sargassum in Chocolate Hole, Hart Bay, Borck Creek (which is part of Hurricane Hole), and over at Drunk Bay (which is near Salt Pond Bay). I have seen some on Ms. Vie’s beach on the East End too. There wasn’t much on either Hansen or Saltwell Bottom out there.
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April 26th Update (Afternoon)
I am happy to tell you all that things are mostly back to normal on the seaweed front. The wind direction changed back to normal, so the majority of our beaches were mostly free of sargassum today. Jumbie continues to have a large amount, but we are used to seeing it there. I didn’t hike over to Salomon or Honeymoon, so I am not certain on the status over there. I also haven’t checked out Salt Pond today.
Hawksnest, Trunk and Cinnamon had a small amount of sargassum dried on the beach. It was so small that you could step over it, and it wouldn’t be bothersome. There were some pools of it floating in Hawksnest Bay, but again, nothing problematic. Here are a few pics I took this morning…
April 26th Update (Early Morning)
So the sargassum was mostly going in Cruz Bay in the morning. Then it came back with a vengeance throughout the day. It is gone, once again, this morning. The employees at Wharfside Village worked diligently all day to remove as much as they could.
Jumbie was covered yesterday. I saw some piled up on the far side of Francis. Maho was free of it. Trunk Bay was mostly too. Cinnamon has some that was dried up own the beach. I did not notice much in the water.
Just as I had hoped, no additional seaweed seemed to come in yesterday to the more popular beaches. What I saw was dried up piles on the beach in some spots, and none that I saw seemed to smell at all. So all is right in the world once again. 🙂
April 25th Update (Early Morning)
The sargassum in Cruz Bay has subsided overnight. I’m heading out to the North Shore soon and will post an additional update later today.
April 24th Update
There is a large amount of sargassum on Honeymoon Beach today. You have to wade through a decent amount of it to enter the water on most of the beach. The employees at the Caneel Bay Beach Club were raking it on that side of the beach.
There was also some on Salomon, but not as much as Honeymoon. You could step over it and enjoy the beach as normal.
It’s also covering Cruz Bay beach today. They’re taking it in front of Wharfside.
As I mentioned before, this isn’t a regular occurrence and it should lessen as the week continues.
April 23rd Afternoon Update
A reader has told me that Salt Pond is currently “covered” in sargassum.
I did notice some piling up on the right side of Trunk Bay today. The majority of the beach remains free of sargassum.
Sargassum floated into Francis Bay during Sunday afternoon. I was told you had to wade through a bit to access the water by 2:30 p.m.
Caneel Bay beach (near ZoZo’s and the dock) has sargassum across it.
Our winds normally come out of the east. This allows the sargassum to float past the more popular beaches. We currently have a very strange westerly wind. This is prompting the sargassum to hit some beaches it normally would not, like Trunk Bay, for example.The wind direction is supposed to change back to normal in the upcoming days, so the sargassum should not be problematic after that happens.
I’ll keep you all posted! 🙂
April 23rd Morning Update
I am definitely seeing more sargassum in the waters surrounding St. John, but as of yesterday, it is still not affecting the most popular beaches here on St. John.
I did see a decent amount of sargassum floating in the mouth of Great Cruz Bay yesterday. The seaweed was not on the beach at the Westin, which sits on Great Cruz Bay.
There were masses of sargassum in Hurricane Hole on St. John’s East End yesterday.
I also saw sargassum on the beach in Chocolate Hole yesterday. There are vacation rentals on the beach, but this is not a typical swimming or snorkeling area for vacationers.
There was some near the shore of Reef Bay yesterday too. It was not near the hiking trail, but rather on the western side of the bay.
Sargassum continues to pile up near the eastern side of Ditliff Point.
A very large amount of sargassum continues to pile up in Coral Bay. I did notice a bit of a smell yesterday when standing right near the shore.
Again, it is not affecting the most popular beaches here on St. John, including Hawksnest, Gibney, Oppenheimer, Trunk, Cinnamon, Maho, Francis, Hansen or Saltwell Bottom. (I have not been out to Salt Pond or the Lameshur area recently.)
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April 21st, 2023 Update
The sargassum is piling up on the shore in Coral Bay. I also saw a large amount on the western shore of Hart Bay on the island’s south side. The North Shore beaches are still free of sargassum.
April 19th, 2023 Update
There really isn’t too much sargassum affecting the island at the moment. I saw some dried up over at Jumbie yesterday, but it wasn’t enough to make me not want to spend the day there.
There is, however, a large amount in Friis Bay, which is the bay in front of Miss Lucy’s restaurant. It’s currently floating in the water, and did not appear to be dried up on the beach. I did not notice a smell at all. So while I am trying to inform you about its location, please continue to enjoy the amazing food over at Miss Lucy’s. The sargassum is not affecting their business at all, nor do I expect it too.
North Shore Beaches
- Hawksnest, Gibney, Oppenheimer, Trunk, Cinnamon, Maho & Francis are all currently free of sargassum.
You will see what looks like strands of it floating in the water around St. John, but again, it is not dramatically affecting our beaches this week.
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