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News of St. JohnNews of St. John

Westin beach littered by damaged boats

While the Westin Resort said it suffered "minimal" damage from Earl, and no structural damage, the same cannot be said for folks with boats moored in Great Cruz Bay.


Twoboats Bob Egan, a guest from West Falmouth, Mass, staying at the Westin, was on the beach today shooting video and stills of the day after.

Westinbeach He said 'some pretty nice vintage boats' litter the beach, eight in all, including a 30-foot "Cape" and a cabin cruiser.

For folks like himself, staying at the resort, the storm was just a 'bad, rainy day.'

Police and Red Cross workers, he said, were also seen at the Westin today.

You can see Egan's stills and videos, loaded onto CNN's iReport Web site, here.

Westin says damage ‘minimal’

An announcement from the Westin St. John says Earl was no big deal. The resort "experienced minimal damage to our outdoor areas and the property did not sustain any structural damage. The resort team is currently cleaning up landscaping debris. Our associates and customers are all safe."

While the Beach Cafe and pool will reopen Wednesday, and the Snorkels bar/restaurant will be back in operation Friday, the beach is closed "until the necessary water safety tests have been completed."

The morning after ain’t pretty

Thanks to Doug Benton, aka 'Crabby' of Crabby's Watersports in Coral Bay, we're getting a better and bitter idea of St. John a day after Earl.

In a lengthy post including information from about half a dozen locals, Crabby says:

  • Power's out on St. John; could be down for a week
  • Land phone lines are working.
  • The dock at the Westin's gone. Six boats on the beach.
  • Chocolate Hole beach is littered with boats that were torn from their moorings.

Read Crabby's full report here:

St. John: Morning after at 10:45 a.m.

Island artist Sloop Jones said his East End neighborhood weathered the storm in OK fashion. 

Asked about damages, Jones said "Nothing out here. This was a small powerful storm.  Maybe three inches of rain.  We had one serious blow for about 20 minutes, around 60 mph."

He did have a close call, though. "Around 6 a.m. Monday,  I moved my car.  20 minutes later a tree fell where my car was!"

Elsewhere, "Rain came down in sheets," another East End resident, Stephen Hull, told the St. John Source's report.

Sloop Jones, by the way, said he spent most of Monday online, doing e-mail and other e-chores, despite power flickers.  He has another business, Dish 'n Dat, which installs HughesNet dishes which provide Internet access via satellite.

Hurricane Earl: the morning after

Spicecam1 The weather is overcast in Cruz Bay but the St. John Spicecam is back in business. 

Some may say the dinghy dock is repairable; it sure did get beat up.  Surprisingly, moored boats in the harbor are still moored. The camera shows no boats or debris washed up on the beach.

None of the other island webcams (Villa Serendipity at Chocolate Hole, St. John Brewers, Amarosa/Peter Bay) were showing much at 10:15 a.m.

Chain saws, hammering, and the voices of folks cleaning up limbs and debris can be heard around the island.  The entrance to Fish Bay has been blocked by a few downed trees.  A resident at Mamey Peak said she heard trees cracking during the later part of the storm, Monday afternoon.

Crabby of Coral Bay said  he was able to stay ion touch during the storm. "Everyone I've been in contact with still has hard-line phone service — and that is great news."

That’s our FEMA

At 4:45 p.m., the Federal Emergency Management Agency issued a press release, "to urge everyone in the region to take steps now to ensure they are prepared for possible severe weather."

Hello! 

It's been raining and nasty and windy and dangerous since before dawn!