An Online Blog About the Daily Happenings of St. John, USVI
Cruise with us from the East End to Maho Bay in less than three minutes. Oh and we brought a friend along with us – you may have heard of him. 😉
(Dear Kenny Chesney, please don’t get upset with us for “borrowing” your song. Love, Jenn)
Turn your volume up…
This video was created using a GoPro Hero3.
You have to admit, yesterday’s story was pretty funny. We wanted to do something to make you all laugh and we knew John Brandi would be game, so we concocted this silly story to trick all of you. Once Captain John got Winsome involved at the Soggy Dollar, we knew it was going to be great!
So we have to ask – How many of you believed us at least for a second?? Let us know below.
So I have to admit, this never even crossed my mind…
As you all know, the new South Shore gas station is very close to being completed. Despite the fact that the land it is being built on is the subject of an ongoing court case (Click here to read New Gas Station Prompts Land Dispute), work is continuing and it appears that the gas station will be open for business in the very near future. Well things might not work as as planned…
Call me oblivious, but I never saw this coming.
How many of you have either driven or walked up Jacob’s Ladder? For those of you unfamiliar with this section of roadway, it’s located on Southside Road just before the new gas station. It’s an extremely steep and pretty intense section of roadway to say the least. Well as it turns out, Jacob’s Ladder is so steep that trucks have trouble getting up it. Case in point: Last week’s gas delivery to the new gas station. Check out this picture taken by St. John Tradewinds:
According to the Tradewinds, “St. John emergency officials expressed concern after they responded twice to incidents involving a fuel truck trying to make the first delivery to the new gas station on South Shore Road on Wednesday, March 26. After the truck blocked traffic for more than hour when it couldn’t climb Jacob’s Ladder — and was escorted back to Cruz Bay. The driver made a second attempt to make the delivery by trying to go through Contant to the top of the hill, where it became stuck again, and St. John Rescue responded once again as a backhoe was brought in to turn the truck around.”
We heard the truck never made it to the new gas station and had to sell it off to E&C. We’re not really sure what the current status is, but we do know that the truck dropped off the gas container in Cruz Bay Tuesday night before hopping on the barge to St. Thomas.
All we have to say is, karma?
So as you all know, the situation with the new ferries has become laughable. The government essentially ordered them without ever consulting the current ferry operators. The current ferry operators own their own boats, so it makes no sense for them to lease them from the government. Delrise Varlack of Varlack Ventures, one of the current ferry boat operators, was even recently quoted as saying the government needed to “get serious” about contract terms.
Well it seems that someone has gotten serious – Captain John Brandi of Palm Tree Charters.
“You know, I was just plain sick and tired of seeing those two beauties docked over there at the sub base in St. Thomas,” Captain John said recently. “So I made the government an offer they couldn’t refuse.”
What exactly was the offer Captain John made? Well beginning this Saturday, Red Hook 1 will be renamed Palm Tree Charters Express. You read that right – Palm Tree Charters has leased one of the ferry boats. How exciting is that?!
“Now this is going to be good. Each Saturday and Sunday, I’m going to offer an express trip over to see Mick and the girls at the Soggy Dollar. Boy oh boy, I can’t wait,” Captain John said.
“The good thing is I can now transport 250 people at a time,” he continued. “The bad thing is that people will have to pack light because there’s barely any luggage space.”
Seriously, I can’t wait for the inaugural trip on Saturday.
Even the folks at the Soggy are excited. Here’s what they had to say Monday:
Trips aboard the Palm Tree Charters Express will depart each Saturday and Sunday from the National Park Dock. The cost is $50 per person roundtrip. You must be 18 and older to ride, so leave those kiddos at home.
Want to be among the first to ride on the Palm Tree Charters Express? Click here to visit Captain John’s website and to make a reservation.
Hear the sound of the surf lapping at the water’s edge just a stone’s throw away from this pod-style quasi waterfront family home.
Located in Calabash just past Coral Bay, this home features two separate income producing units plus additional space to add on. The lower level features a living room, kitchen, loft bedroom and bathroom while the upper unit consists of one bedroom, one bathroom, a kitchen and living room. The upper unit also has upper and lower decks with water views out toward the East End and British Virgin Islands.
The home has a fully fenced in yard, making it very dog-friendly, and has an abundance of large trees and native stonework. The home is fully hurricane shuttered.
Another great feature of this Calabash home is its proximity to the shops and restaurants in Coral Bay. Enjoy the cooling tradewinds while you walk on over and enjoy all that Coral Bay has to offer. This location also affords you the ability to moor your boat in nearby Coral Bay harbor, allowing you to keep an eye on it 24/7 from one of your private decks.
All of this can be yours for only $655,000.
Want to learn more? Contact Tammy at 340 Real Estate Co. at [email protected]
People often email us here at News of St. John asking for recommendations on good, authentic local fare. Well there’s a new restaurant in town that fits the bill and we have to say, it’s pretty delish.
De’ Coal Pot has garnered quite a name for itself since it opened less than four weeks ago. Located in the heart of Cruz Bay – next to The Lime Inn and across from Sogo’s Restaurant and the Cruz Bay Boutique Hotel – De’ Coat Pot serves up authentic Caribbean cuisine that includes shrimp creole, garlic herb conch, herb crusted steak and more. It has a large, beautifully decorated dining room and a bar that seats six.
De’ Coal Pot is owned by Norma and Glycerius Herman – Norma grew up in St. Thomas while Glycerius is from St. Lucia. Together they are bringing the delicious flavors of the Caribbean to Cruz Bay. Here are a few dishes they serve:
You may have even had the opportunity to taste one of the Herman’s dishes in the past. The couple owned the Windy Level up on Centerline from 2009-2011. The location wasn’t ideal, according to Norma, so they decided to relocate into town.
“I wanted a spot in town because of the traffic,” Norma said. “It took four-and-a-half months to build. We did it one day at a time.”
So what exactly is the meaning behind the coal pot?
“The coal pot is what we grew up cooking on,” Norma said. “Conch, oxtail – it took a lot gas to cook them and get them soft, and gas was too expensive, so we had to use the coal pot.”
The coal pot is simply decorative at De’ Coal Pot but serves as a reminder of the past.
De’ Coal Pot is open Monday through Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. It currently accepts cash only; however they will begin accepting credit cards in the upcoming weeks.
You can contact De’ Coal Pot at (340) 714-2625. You can also find them on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/DeCoalPot
We told you yesterday how the waves were expected to be quite large – 13 to 15 feet to be exact. They were pretty intense. See for yourself:
Another great video courtesy of Palm Tree Charters … Captain John Brandi happened on a pod of dolphins yesterday. So cool!
Just got this info from VITEMA:
An intense low pressure system across the northwest Atlantic is generating large swells that is impacting exposed coastlines of the northern U.S. Virgin Islands. The National weather Service in San Juan has issued a coastal flooding advisory which is in effect through 4 a.m. Saturday and a high surf advisory remains in effect until 8 p.m. Saturday.
These larges long period northwesterly swells could produce large breaking waves of 13 to 16 feet along the northern coastlines of St. Thomas and St. John and up to 4 to 6 feet on St. Croix. The swells are producing strong rip currents making swimming dangerous as well as hazardous surf conditions.
Localized flooding and minor beach erosion are also possible along the northwest through north facing coastlines of the Virgin Islands.
Beach-goers are advised to use extreme caution during recreational activities at local beaches.
Happy Friday everyone! Last week, we told you about a great event that was happening at Motu – Faces of St. John. For those of you who were unable to attend this wildly successful event, we wanted to share some of the featured images with you. Enjoy!
(All images courtesy of Sundial Experience Planning and Imran Stephen Photography)
Want to see more? Click here to view all of the Faces of St. John images.
