As many of you know, Barbara Alperen, beloved wife of Sloop Jones, passed away on July 16. Today her family and friends will celebrate her life, and everyone is welcome and invited to attend.
The memorial service will take place today, Sunday, August 3, at 1 p.m. at Newfound Cottage on the easternmost end of Centerline Road where the pavement meets the sea. Guests are asked to bring a dish to share while joining Sloop in celebrating Barbara’s life.
We were asked to pass along her obituary to all of you…
Barbara Joyce Alperen, age 64, passed on to the next world on July 16, 2014.
Born March 9, 1950 to Samuel and Eleanor Alperen in Lewiston, Maine, Barbara was a longtime St. John resident and beloved wife of Terry McKoy.
She was known affectionately as “doña Barbara” by those close to her.
Barbara and Terry arrived on St. John in 1989 with 300 t-shirts and a box of paints. Their colorful hand-painted clothing is a St. John icon.
Their gallery of tropical delights was made even brighter and more beautiful by Barbara’s green thumb. Her orchids, jasmine, and ylang ylang infuse the air with sweetness.
Terry and Barbara were partners in life. He remained by her side through her final moments, soothing her pain with jasmine and ylang ylang oils.
Barbara is survived by her husband Terry and siblings, Naomi, Selma, and Martin.
Donations may be made in Barbara’s honor to the St. John Cancer Fund, www.stjohncancerfund.org, or to Hospice by the Sea in Boca Raton, FL, www.hbts.org.
Here’s the latest on Bertha from the National Hurricane Center as of 8 a.m. Saturday morning:
As of 8 a.m., the storm was moving rapidly toward Puerto Rico and heavy squalls were moving toward the Virgin Islands. Here are the exact figures:
8:00 AM AST Sat Aug 2 Location:
16.7°N 65.5°W
Moving: WNW at 22 mph
Min pressure: 1008 mb
Max sustained: 50 mph
As of 8 a.m., the ports remain closed. Cyril King Airport on St. Thomas remains open, according to the VI Port Authority.
And according to Weather Underground, tropical storm conditions will persist throughout the day with winds between 25 and 35 mph and 100% precipitation. Conditions will lessen this evening a bit with 80% chance of precipitation and winds between 20 and 30 mph.
As always, check out the National Hurricane Center for official information.
Well folks, it looks like a tropical storm is heading toward St. John. St. John, St. Thomas, St. Croix and Puerto Rico are officially under a tropical storm warning.
So what exactly does that mean? It means that tropical storm conditions are expected to arrive in the territory by Saturday morning. Here’s the official info from VI-Alert:
“At 8 a.m., the center of Tropical Storm Bertha was estimated near latitude 13.6 degrees north, longitude 57.9 degrees west. Bertha is moving toward the west-northwest near 20 miles per hour and this general motion is expected to continue for the next couple of days.
On the forecast track Bertha is expected to pass near or north of Barbados during the next several hours and move through the central Lesser Antilles tonight and into the northeastern Caribbean on Saturday.
Maximum sustained winds remain near 45 miles per hour with higher gusts. No significant change in strength is forecast during the next 48 hours. Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 45 miles from the center.
Tropical storm conditions are expected in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on Saturday. Bertha is expected to produce rainfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches with isolated amounts up to 6 inches across portions of the US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and the Leeward Islands through Saturday night.”
For those of you on island, you can sign up to receive text message or email alerts at VI-Alert.gov. Here is the direct link to sign up for notifications: https://users.vialert.gov/
So official information aside…
In true St. John fashion, some of our favorite spots are gearing up for the storm in the best way they know how – by planning storm parties!
Woody’s is planning to have a storm party all day Saturday and Sunday with $4 Hurricane Drinks.
Castaway’s is also having a storm party because when it rains, they pour. They’re offering $4 Jameson, 2 for 1 bombs and $2 rum drinks beginning at 9 p.m. Saturday.
The Beach Bar will be having $5 Dark & Stormys all day long.
And in case you missed it in the past, here’s a quick little video courtesy of Captain John Brandi that explains just exactly what one should be doing when it rains on St. John. Check it out, enjoy and stay safe everyone!
Yesterday we introduced you to Christine and Mark Fano, the owners of a beautiful new home over near Klein Bay. The Fanos recently completed a 21-month build of their home. Seeing how so many of you have dreamt about building your own home in paradise, we thought we’d share their story. Today we’re talking about what it’s actually like to build on St. John.
“It was difficult and exciting at the same time,” Christine said about the construction process. “The amount of time, money and stress that affects the owner is overwhelming to be honest. People did warn us about it, but unless you’re experiencing it, you don’t completely understand. And being thousands of miles away, did not help!
Casa La Famiglia
“The last six months of our build was completely overwhelming mentally. Thank goodness our kids were understanding. At the end of the construction process, things were going at a fast pace. Having to order every little item for the villa from pasta strainer to a lemon press, then King sized everything for the beds to outdoor cushions … then organizing furniture delivery to Miami, and then to St. John with customs was a full-time job in itself. We had four-20 foot containers full of literally everything in and outside of our home.
“Receiving emails on a daily basis of problems and issues that needed to be addressed ‘immediately’ was very taxing on us. Everything needed to be choreographed in perfect order because if one thing isn’t done, other things cannot be done. What we found out later was that our experience is the typical experience of those that build on island. Did it make us feel better? Not really!”
So what was the biggest surprise they encountered during their build?
“The biggest surprise was how nice of an experience things were during the build until the last six months,” Christine said. “I could write a book, but much of it was a blur and would be impossible for me to recollect. That is why I am happy I wrote my blog.”
(You can check out Chrsitine’s building blog here.)
While coordinating the build, the Fanos chose to incorporate many of the same personal touches guests at their home in New Jersey would expect.
“Our family is all about hospitality,” Christine said. “If you came to our home on the mainland for a visit, I wouldn’t let you leave unless you had coffee or tea with something to eat. We designed Casa La Famiglia for guests that absolutely want luxury with a warm personal experience.
“After our villa manager picks guests up from the ferry, we have a delicious dinner waiting for them at the house and we also have cocktails and drinks with appetizers in the refrigerator for them. I then phone the house to welcome them to St. John and Casa La Famiglia and to check on them to see if they need anything. Before they leave, we always touch base with them wishing them a safe trip home. Lastly, when we send our guest’s back their deposit, we always send a personal thank you note and a small bag of Cruz Bay Grill Rub from St. John Spice. Guests really like that, a piece of St. John they can enjoy.”
Knowing what they now know, would the Fanos build again?
“Yes, we would absolutely build again but we had done our due diligence prior and knew pretty much what we were getting ourselves into financially. But when someone asks me if they should build … that is a loaded question! It depends on the person asking and their personal situation. I would never want to stop someone for doing something they were dreaming of, but there are big risks when building on island,” Christine said.
“I would suggest strongly that potential homeowners have 30-40% more waiting in the bank than what their budget actually calls for. To add much, much more for interior and exterior furnishings as well as linens, kitchen equipment and the rest. Basically be able to furnish the whole house inside and out. To make sure they have a good solid marriage, good health and are not stretching themselves financially in order to build. Remember that you’re signing a contract with your builder…he won’t care if you get sick, lose your job, your business is slow or anything else. Be financially prepared for the worst case scenario.
“There are plenty of half-way built villas or vacant parcels that were bought years ago that are still vacant. What we found is that some land purchasers got scared once they hire an architect and see the estimated costs involved even before the bidding process begins. If someone can’t find what they want in a villa and do not want to build, another recommendation would be to buy a home in the location you love, gut it and do what you want. I have seen that done a few times and it absolutely makes more sense financially for many people, and usually work can be completed within a year. That is a project that homeowners can absolutely control in terms of budget.”
And lastly, in addition to creating a warm and welcoming home for guests to enjoy while on St. John, Christine also has a cause near and dear to her heart.
“My son Christopher has autism and we hope to work with the autism community and the USVI government to bring autism awareness, education, recreation, services and training to the Special Needs Virgin Islands community.”
The Fano Family
For more information on Casa La Famiglia, please visit CasaLaFamiglia.com
Yesterday we showed you a small sampling of villas for sale on St. John. Now we’re pretty certain that many of you have daydreamed at least once or twice about living on island, but perhaps the full time island life isn’t for you yet. So maybe the idea of owning a rental property that you can visit from time to time may sound like a good alternative. Well today we want to introduce you to a family who has done just that.
Mark and Christine Fano first found St. John back in 2010 when Christine was looking for a place for her family, which includes sons Dominic and Christopher, to spend the Easter holiday that year. Their requirements were quite simple:
“Warm ocean temperatures, heat, sun, but not too windy,” Christine said. “No more than 3 1/2 hours away with a direct flight from our home (in New Jersey), family-friendly, quiet, safe where you can leave your hotel or villa without worry, and variety in land topography, just to name a few.”
So like many other people, Christine did quite a bit of research online and quickly found that St. John fit the bill. They then began researching accommodation options when they came across a building blog, which inevitably prompted them to think about their retirement.
“We are in our 40s, which is young from what people tell us, but we wanted to have something now so we could enjoy with our children and make memories,” Christine said. “The first week we vacationed and visited St. John. We looked at many homes on island and nothing fit our criteria. Certain things like location, you can’t change. We didn’t want to be driving 15 minutes to go to a market and wanted to be on the sunniest side for the later part of the day when we would normally get back and swim in the pool. Beauty was important as well as practically for us and our guests.
“It was important to look at homes and their rental income as well. We are business owners so we looked at things with that in mind. We researched what villa locations were best for homeowners and renters. We knew we wanted to be close to Cruz Bay, but we also wanted a quieter location where it felt like a neighborhood,” Christine said. “Basically, we were not going to settle in terms of our personal needs, especially because the large amount of money it costs to build, and then maintain a large, full A/C 5 bedrooms home on island.”
So after a bit more research, the Fanos decided to build their own retirement home on a parcel near Klein Bay. The first dig happened in the Spring of 2011, about six months after their architect Mike Oxman completed the drawings and after all of the permits were approved.
Casa La Famiglia took about 21 months to build (a record from what we’ve been told!) and was officially completed in February of this year. And if you ask me, it came out beautifully. See for yourself:
Coming tomorrow:Read more about the construction process, some surprises they encountered along the way, as well as some personal touches they’ve incorporated into their vacation home.
Everyone dreams of living in paradise, right? There are currently 152 homes for sale on island. Of those, only 15 are listed for less than half a million dollars while 99 are listed for over $1 million. Here’s a small sampling of what your money can buy you on St. John.
Lets start with the cream of the crop – Kismet. Kismet is an incredible seven bedroom home in Chocolate Hole. It’s described as being “a genuine architectural masterpiece.” Here’s a bit from its listing:
“From its ultra private perch atop Maria’s Bluff, the villa offers 360-degree views framing miles of open ocean, numerous protected bays, sleepy outlying cays and thousands of acres of green hillsides within the vast VI National Park. A sprawling compound befitting its one-of-a-kind location, Kismet’s subtle Moroccan undertones are woven throughout the artisan quality finishes of its numerous guest suites, common living areas, billiards room, home theater and separate caretakers residence. Stepping outside, one seamlessly enters a magical knoll top oasis with a central pool deck, shaded verandas, and meandering footpaths throughout the exceptionally manicured grounds.”
See for yourself:
Kismet is listed for $13.5 million.
On the lower end of the market is a super cute one bedroom home located in the valley off of Gifft Hill. Turtle Haven is an idyllic home that incorporates vaulted ceilings, a contemporary kitchen and bath, and a spacious great room that flows to the generous screened deck. Check out a few pics:
Turtle Haven is listed for $349,000.
For those of you who prefer Coral Bay to the Cruz Bay end of the island, Estate Fortsberg just may be the property for you. Watch stunning sunrises and listen to the sounds of the sea from this beautiful and well appointed four bedroom home. Estate Fortsberg is located on one acre of land within the National Park which contains ruins of a Fort and Cannon Battery, according to its listing. In addition to four master bedrooms suites, the home has a fully equipped kitchen with granite countertops, outdoor showers, expansive decks and most importantly, incredible views. See for yourself:
Estate Fortsberg is listed at $2.4 million.
Want to check out the other 149 homes for sale? Here is a list of several real estate agencies on the island:
Happy Monday everyone! So Team News of St. John didn’t win yesterday’s Chaotic Kayak race, but we did raise a boatload of cash to support Team River Runner, so that’s a huge win in my book! A big thanks to all of you who supported!
More than $38,000 was raised and $2,000 of that was thanks to our loyal News of St. John fans. All of the proceeds will be used to bring a group of wounded veterans down to the island this November for a week of rest and relaxation.
Here are a few pics from the event:
A big thanks to all of the veterans who attended Sunday’s race
A HUGE thanks to Team News of St. John!
And another HUGE thanks to everyone who generously supported Team News of St. John!!
We absolutely love the folks over at the Animal Care Center. They do an amazing job taking care of the island’s cats and dogs. We wanted to support the ACC in a big way which is why we chose them as one of the four charities that will receive a portion of the proceeds from our St. Johnopoly game. (You can preorder yours at www.newsofstjohn.com/stjohnopoly)
But we have some more great news … we’re not the only ones who are showing the love to the ACC. Joshua Vernon of Massachusetts is putting together a fundraising event for people living in and around the Boston area, and all proceeds will benefit the ACC. How wonderful is that?!
The event is scheduled for Sunday, August 24 at Donohue’s Bar & Grill in Watertown, Massachusetts. The event will feature a silent raffle, again with all proceeds directly supporting the ACC. They have a ton of great items so far including two-night stays at both the Westin and the St. John Inn, a weekend stay with breakfast and dinner at the Salem Waterfront Hotel in Massachusetts, a half day snorkel charter with Captain Jimbo, and a ton of gift certificates and gift baskets.
The ACC is also in need of a few very important items. For starters, they really need a truck to transport the animals to and from vet appointments. So if there is a generous donor out there, it would be greatly appreciated.
The ACC is also in need of harnesses for the dogs (pictured below) and large dog treats or rawhide bones. These bones entertain the dogs throughout the day while they are in the kennel.
Please send all donations to:
Animal Care Center
5000 Estate Enighed PMB 571
St. John, VI 00830
For those of you who follow News of St. John regularly, you know that we recently took a little cruise around the British Virgin Islands for a week. Well we never got around to posting a wrap up report, so here it is. 🙂
To recap, we hopped aboard the Guiding Light July 5 and spent the following six days on board. As we mentioned during previous posts, we visited Norman Island, Cooper Island, Virgin Gorda and Little Jost van Dyke.
So there’s a reason we never got around to writing our trip wrap up. That reason’s called the Soggy Dollar Bar.
For those of you unfamiliar with the Soggy Dollar Bar (and I’m sure this is a very small percentage of you), it’s a very fun bar located over in White Bay on Jost van Dyke. The reason it’s called the Soggy is pretty simple and straightforward. There aren’t any docks in White Bay, so you essentially have to anchor in swim in, hence the soggy dollars.
Well we spent our entire fifth day, the final full day of our trip, at the Soggy Dollar. It pretty much consisted of playing in the water, having drinks, playing the the water some more, some more drinks, dodging some rain by sitting in the water … well, I think you get the gist of what happens over at the Soggy Dollar.
We have pictures, but we thought it’d be best not to share them to protect the innocent 😉
We did have a celebrity sighting while we were over there though – St. John’s very own celebrity extraordinaire, Captain John Brandi of Palm Tree Charters. (In case you missed it, we posted a video Thursday of the Soggy Dollar in which Captain Brandi made a cameo appearance. Click here to check that out.)
After playing in the water all day and hanging out with one of our favorite boat captains, it was time to swim back to the boat. We had yet another delicious dinner prepared for us by Captain Shane before hitting the hay. We woke up pretty early the next morning and sailed back to St. John.
I have to say, our trip was pretty incredible. It was easily a 10 out of 10, and I have Captain Shane and Leila, his first mate, to thank for that. They were spectacular – super nice, super accommodating, super fun and great cooks.
I highly recommend chartering on the Guiding Light. If you like to learn more, check out their website at www.SVGuidingLight.com. Happy sailing!
