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virgin islands

Name that boat

The Department of Health is soliciting suggestions for the naming of a new ambulance boat for St.  It is expected to be completed within a month.

Boat

A spokesman for the department said that the suggestions are not limited to names of people, rather, all thoughts of what the vessel should be called are welcome. A committee including St. John residents "will take into consideration all the suggestions."

"St. John has a rich history and the selection of the name that shall be worn on the new ambulance boat will reflect this notable recognition,” Department of Health spokesperson Eunice Bedminster said. “As we anxiously await the arrival of our newly constructed vessel, we want the community to share in our excitement, especially urging the residents of St. John to participate in this initiative.”

The boat is being built by Gold Coast Yachts of St Croix. It will improve maritime and emergency medical transport from St. John to St. Thomas. This is a picture of one of the firm's Response Boats.

The Inquiring Iguana is laying even money it's named after a former island Governor or Senator.

St. John Blues Festival begins Wednesday

Fest The annual St. John Blues Festival kicks off Wednesday night, with five days and nights of topflight performers offering blues, soul and maybe even some reggae.

This is the ninth year Steve Simon has organized the event.  He is a longtime island resident with a huge talent and love for music.  It's Simon who also, for years, hosted Sunday afternoon jam sessions at the Beach Bar.

This year's edition of the Blues Festival, sponsored by Johnnie Walker, is bigger than ever with not just one, but TWO, big concerts at the Coral Bay ball field, Friday and Saturday nights.  (Ticket information is here.)

Friday night's lineup includes Grady Champion, Candye Kane, and Albert Cummings.  Saturday's presents Moreland & Arbuckle, Reba Russell, Curtis Salgado (pictured) and The Big Band.

"All of the acts are off the charts.  These are the best voices in the blues," he added.  Simon especially looks forward to Salgado's set. "Wait until you see the horn section and the lady backup singers, too.  They are just killer!," Simon said. "I always book my heroes (for these concerts," Simon told the St. John Sun Times. 

But before the big shows on the weekend, four of the island's restaurants – in Coral Bay and Cruz Bay – will be hosting many blues musicians.  Here's the lineup for those no cost events:
Curtis_Salgado
Wednesday, Opening Party  

Sun Dog Cafe, 7:30 pm to 11:00 pm
Starring: Mitch Woods & The Rocket 88's

The Beach Bar, 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm
Starring: Live Blues music all evening

Island Blues, 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Starring: James Cobb

Shipwreck Landing, 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm
Starring: Dave Gerard & Groove Thang
 
Thursday
 
Island Blues, 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Starring: Mojones Red Hot Rockn' Blues

The Beach Bar, 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm
Dave Gerard & Groove Thang

Friday

Shipwreck Landing, 5:00 pm to 7:30 pm
Starring: Jimmi "Prime Time" Smith

Island Blues, 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Starring: Mitch Woods

Sunday

The Beach Bar, 4:00 pm to 7:30 pm
Starring: Surprise Celebrity Blues Artists

New parking lot in Paradise

MahoA new parking lot 'come soon' for Maho Bay beach on the north shore, just past Cinnamon Bay.

A National Park Ranger told the St. Source space for 15 to 20 vehicles will be completed in the next couple of months.

Safety is one big reason for the lot.

If you've gone to Maho (Perhaps to watch the pelicans!), you've parked along the left side of the road, or nosed your vehicle into the trees along the right side.

Either way, it's a traffic obstacle.  

Furthermore, some drivers don't show much caution (i.e. slow down) on the straight stretch of road, creating a danger for beachgoers crossing the road or unpacking their beach chairs from the back of their cars.

Parking on the inland side of the road will still be permitted. However, all the vehicle's tires must be off the road surface or Rangers can issue a $50 ticket. Parking on the water side of the road will not be allowed at all.

Lionfish threaten islands’ tourism, fishing

Lionfish Some time ago, there was a living Lionfish on display at Mongoose Junction.

A staffer at the Friends of the Park store, where the fish was kept, said it didn't survive very long despite a voracious appetite.  It died and is now in a jar on a shelf.  Would that hundreds more of the water-borne eating machines have the same fate.

Every day, swimmers and divers are on the lookout for Lionfish in waters around St. John, according to Karl Pytlik, who heads up local Caribbean Oceanic Restoration and Education Foundation (CORE) activities.  If a Lionfish is found, he says dozens of volunteers are prepared to don masks and slippers and try and catch the fish.

According to Pytlik, one Lionfish can eat as many as 20 other fish in a day.

The President of CORE recently called the lionfish "an eating and breeding machine."  Joseph Gulli told an audience at the University of the Virgin Islands a female can lay up to 20,000 eggs at a time, every four days, the St. John Source reported.  

Gulli warned that the appetite of the lionfish, combined with its ability to reproduce, threatens the territory's fishing, tourism and diving industries, which he valued at $400 to $500 million.  "The Lionfish are going to take all of this away."

The Friends store, as well as St. John Spice, has tools available for people to mark spots where they spy a lionfish.  If they make a call to CORE, volunteers can respond and try and catch it.

Where to find music in Coral Bay

Looking for some tunes in the evening on the eastern side of the island?  There are lots of spots to try, although not all offer music every night.  Gerald Singer's keeps up with the nightly offerings on his Web site.

“Lost” petroglyph found by Park volunteers

Re-discovery of long forgotten petroglyphs along the Reef Bay Trail has given rise to speculation the island was inhabited as far back as 1 AD.

VIIS-Reef Bay Rockart Reflection NPS_0
The 'new' old rock carvings were found by volunteers on a Friends of the Park trek with Ken Wild, the Park's archeologist.  He distributed copies of photographs taken years ago, and told them that if the Taino carvings were found, their style would suggest Native Americans were on the island as much as 500 years earlier than had been assumed.

VIIS-Reef Bay Trail rockart NPS_0
Sue Borger, one of the volunteers, spotted was looking for the rocks she saw in the photograph.  "I could hardly believe it, but those rocks were right in front of me," she later wrote.  Her husband, Darrell, pulled away plant growth on the rocks and shouted, "Here it is. We've got it."

In an e-mail to the National Parks Traveler, Wild said, 'Evidence that the petroglyphs were carved by the Taino Indians has been strongly supported through the designs found on pottery at the Cinnamon Bay and Trunk Bay archaeology excavation along with correlating radiocarbon dates. It also has significant implications regarding Reef Bay and the history of St. John."

Documentary planned for 8 Tuff Miles

Steve Simonsen has begun making plans to produce a documentary about next year's 8 Tuff Miles.

The 16th annual event will be Feb. 25 and Simonsen hopes to cover it, as they say, like a blanket. He wants help. That's why he's posted on Facebook, "Looking for video camera operators for next year's" race.  He'd like to find 20-25 camera people with their own HD cameras.

His plans for a documentar of the race, founded by Peter Alter, include using historical video and/or film of the race and its activities.  So if you've got any from previous years, he'd like to know about it.

Simonsen made a career for himself doing world-class work in the Caribbean including his specialty, underwater photography.  In the past few years, he's branched out into video documentaries.  

"I just wrapped shooting on this year's Pine Peace School auction," he said. "First time I've shot it in HD."

Park’s Red Hook dock closing for weeks

The Red Hook ferry to St. John could be pretty crowded for the next few months.  

That's because the dock used by the Westin Resort, Caneel Bay, and the National Park to bring its guests and workers to St. John will be out of service.

The Park Service's Red Hook dock, across the bay from the Port Authority's dock, is going to be repaired. According to the St. John Source, it will be three weeks until a temporary platform is available as a temporary replacement.

It's not known whether the Caneel and Westin and Park Service boats will shift their operations to the public dock – but that would make sense.  So, the odds of it happening are …?

The cost of replacing the dock and covering its supports in concrete … about $600,000 … will be covered from Trunk Bay admission fees and charges to boaters using the Park's overnight moorings, the Source reported. Completion of the work is hoped for by June.

  • Read the full St. John Source story here

5 new restaurants – all you need to know

No fewer than five new eateries have opened their doors on the island in the past four weeks.
Now, that's a lot of new businesses developing, reason enough for the St. John Sun Times to bend its rules on reviews.  

Samnjacks No time to give the place time to find their groove while the ST's foodies sample the fruits of three visits. So, the Sun Times broke its rules to 'serve' is readers.  

Here are a few notes from the article.

  • Fatty Crab, across from the ball field in Cruz Bay

    "It isn't just dinner, it's an experience … It has a nightclub vibe, with people making the scene, dressed in that island fancy style that must cost a fortune …  The chef, Zak, had actually hooked and pulled in the king fish, mackeral, and mahi that were being served …" 
     

  • Sam & Jack's Deli, 3rd floor of the Marketplace

    "Paradigm shift in the St. John sandwich world … The menu is a New York deli dream … Gourmet take-out comes to St. John … The real star of the shjow is the homemade bread.
          

  • Black Sand Bistro, 2nd floor of the Marketplace

    "A pretty spot-on incarnation of the classic French bistro … Serioiusly good food at neighborly prices … Steamed mussls in a spicy marinara sauce, perfectly pan-roasted chicken breast on a bed of penne with carmelized onions."
     

  • Lone Star, 2nd floor of the Marketplace
  • Buddy's Hurricane Hole at Wharfside Village

The buzz around St. John’s Caneel Bay

Honey There's a cottage industry building on the island and Caneel Bay is helping with the construction.

In March and April, the resort is incorporating St. John-produced honey into its offerings for guests.  The gift shop will be selling 1.5 fl oz jars of USVI Honey and new items on the restaurant menus will feature USVI Honey. The effort will even extend to the bar and the Spa. Cocktails featuring honey and rum as key ingredients and massage treatments will feature honey.

About two years ago, bee keeping classes were offered on St. John and local honey was available at a summertime Farmer's Market.

The Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture says it has trained more than 100 students on all three islands in the science, business, and art of beekeeping.  If you're interested, you can find more information about beekeeping here.