Jacob and Gerald

wwwSeeStJohn.com
It’s one of those rare rainy days on St. John and I mean rainy day. Rain all day rain, big rain, gut washing rain, cistern filling rain, that kind of rain. And this is a good day to write something on the blog, but my thoughts are rain thoughts and then I get this e-mail from Peter Langer:

“I was wondering if you have ever done or will consider doing an article on where the best places might be to kayak on St. John. I will be visiting with my own kayak and would like to explore on my own…”

Thank you Peter. I needed an idea.

First of all St. John is a wonderful place to kayak. The weather is generally good, the water is warm, the scenery is spectacular. You can use a traditional kayak or a sit on top variety. And there is really nothing like the kayak experience. You can glide noiselessly right next to the shoreline even if it’s reefy or shallow. Except for the splash of water dripping from your paddles, there’s no other sounds but those of nature, the surf, the birds and the wind. In short, everywhere on St. John is a wonderful place to kayak.

But the question was: where are the best places to kayak on St. John and this gave me some pause. The north shore has world class beach after world class beach, all easily accessible by kayak. You could put in at one beach, enjoy the paddle along the shoreline between beaches and put in at the next. You could check out some of the offshore cays, stop for a swim or snorkel or a snack.

But, not to take anything away from what would be an absolutely beautiful day of kayaking, you could also enjoy a similar experience in a small boat, or in many cases by car. So I’d prefer to choose a trip uniquely suited to kayaking, but to do this I’ll have to reveal a heretofore closely guarded secret: my favorite kayak itinerary.

At the risk of stating what will probably sound too obvious to actually write down, this trip would be better undertaken on a calm day than on a windy one. I’ll explain why later.

Klein Bay and Ditleff Point

This paddle will begin at Klein Bay and take you to Genti Bay, where you can explore the ruins of the Reef Bay Sugar Mill.

After you put in at Klein Bay on the South Shore, paddle along the rocky shoreline to Ditleff Beach, where you may want to stop and take a swim or snorkel or at least a bit of rest before the major upwind part of the paddle.

From Ditleff, continue around Ditleff Point and you’ll be at the entrance to Fish Bay. This is a nice bay to explore, there are some small beaches on the western side, and mangroves on the east. But in the interest of time it probably would be better to just paddle across the mouth of the bay and round Cocolaba Cay, which would take you to Reef Bay, which is is almost completely protected by a long barrier reef.

Parrot Bay

Reef Bay contains three inner bays and this first one you come to will be Parrot Bay. This is a summer surfing beach. Wind generated south swells break over a series of coral heads. Depending on conditions the break may be gentle or not so gentle. I like to surf in, if the surf is relatively small. Turning over is a distinct possibility, however, so be prepared as far as protecting yourself and your cargo.

This is the main reason that I made the initial caveat about choosing a fairly calm day. But if the seas are too rough and you made it this far, you can paddle on the outside of the reef and come ashore where there is an opening in the reef at Little Reef bay.

Once you land on the beach at Parrot Bay, you’ll probably want to take a rest and enjoy this beautiful off the beaten track beach. Take a break and then continue your paddle inside the breaking surf, close to the beach. Rounding the red rocks at the end of the beach can be a bit hairy, but definitely doable.

You will now be in the shallow lagoon between the outer reef and the beach at Little Reef Bay. This is a unique spot to be, inaccessible to all but the most intrepid human beings, such as bonefishermen. The lagoon is very shallow so proceed cautiously so as not to disturb the environment. You will very likely encounter small sharks and barracudas visible in the shallows. and herons and egrets on shore

Reef Bay Sugar Mill

Petroglyphs

Continue on to the end of the beach, where you can either come ashore and utilize a walking path to access the Reef Bay Sugar Mill ruins or continue to the sugar mill by paddling to the next beach at Genti Bay and coming ashore there.

Explore the ruins, or, if you have the energy, take a walk to the petroglyphs. The trip back is downwind and much easier than the paddle there. I would recommend taking the offshore route back to Klein Bay.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 22nd, 2008 at 10:18 pm and is filed under Life on St. John USVI. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.