Paddle boarding is one of the hottest new sports on the planet. Problem is that if you’re a visitor to St. John, bringing your own board might be be a little inconvenient. But problem solved: you can rent boards at Cinnamon Bay Campground and Maho Bay Camps and Caneel Bay Resort and the Weston offer rentals to guests.

A new entry to the St. John paddle board world, Love City Paddle Boards, has stepped it up a notch.

Owner and founder of the company, long time resident, Karen Jarvis now offers top of the line boards, delivered right to where you choose to paddle. If you’re new to the sport, she’ll give lessons. Got me going in about five minutes.Karen is totally in love wit the sport and says things like:” Paddleboarding sets my spirit free. The feeling of gliding along the surface of turquoise Caribbean Sea with a 10 foot mantaray as my companion is indescribable. Sometimes, when I’m out there on the water at the end of the day, as the sun is setting, I simply stop, sit down on my board, close my eyes and breathe deeply. The serene feeling that follows is AMAZING….. Paddling is a lifestyle of inner peace, strength of body and mind…

The great big manta, by the way, is real and has been frequenting Maho Bay in the last weeks. Standing up on a board is a great way to see it.

Contact Karen at 340 642 9419
e-mail: islandgirlkaren@gmail.com

Karen at the Finish Line - San Juan Paddle Board Race

Karen

Paddling Maho Bay

New Pavilion

Seagull

A wooden deck has been added to the old pavilion

A “Special Use Permit” will be required for use of the existing pavilion, but a permit will not be required for the new open air pavilion, available on a first come, first serve basis..

The project, which will not include running water or electricity, was contracted by an off-island company at a cost of $429,000.

Parking improvements have also been made. On the west end of the beach several head-on parking spaces have been added and on the east end the construction of  a fairly sizable parking lot is underway. Posts have been installed on the north side of the road to prevent parking on the ecologically fragile shoreline.

Green Turtle

Normally you’d think there’s not much to see snorkeling around a seagrass bed and algal plain in the middle of a St. John bay. But if you linger around for a while, you might be surprised. Yesterday in the course of less than a half hour I encountered two big turtles, one with a remora on its back, a fairly large barracuda, conchs, starfish, sea urchins, and a variety of little fish.

Barracuda	Starfish
Turtle with Remora	Spiny Sea Urchin

St. John Music Schedule

Beach Bar – Laura Reed with SGR Band – 9:00 – 777-4220
Castaways – Kenny Floyd – 8:00 – 11:00 – 777-3316
Morgan’s Mango – Luba – 6:30 – 9:30 – 693-8141
Rhumb Lines – Lauren & Bo – 7:00 – 10:00 – 776-0303

See Weekly Music Schedule

Note: I’m doing the best I can to present an accurate music schedule, but to be sure, it would be a great idea to call the restaurant or bar beforehand to confirm.

Nautical Twilight, Chocolate Hole, St. John US Virgin Islands

St. John Music Schedule, Monday April 11

High Tide - Steven Sloan – 7:00 – 10:00 – 714-6169
La Tapa – Sambacombo – 6:30 – 9:30 – 693-7755
Maho Bay Camps - Bo & Lauren – 8:00 – 10:00 – 715-0501
Ocean Grill – Chris Carsel – 6:30 – 9:30 – 693 3304

Note: I’m doing the best I can to present an accurate music schedule, but to be sure, it would be a great idea to call the restaurant or bar beforehand to confirm.

Weekly Music Schedule

Maho Flower

Free Film Screening

Maho Bay Camps is presenting a free film screening of “Green Fire” at 8:00 tonight at the Maho Bay Pavilion Restaurant.

Green Fire
“The first full-length, high-definition documentary film ever made about legendary environmentalist Aldo Leopold, Green Fire highlights Leopold’s extraordinary career, tracing how he shaped and influenced the modern environmental movement. Leopold remains relevant today, inspiring projects all over the country that connect people and land.”

St. John Music Schedule Friday March 25

Beach Bar – Coyote Love – 9:00 – 777-4220
High Tide – John Lee – 7:00 – 10:00 – 714-6169
Island Blues – Jeff White – 3:00 – 6:00 – 776-6800
Morgan’s Mango – Lauren – 6:30 – 9:30 – 693-8141
Ocean Grill – Luba – 6:00 – 9:00 – 693 3304
Shipwreck Landing – Jimmi Prime Time Smith – 5:00 – 8:00 – 693-564
Skinnylegs – Chris Carsel – 6:00 – 9:00 – 779-4982
Westin, Cruz Bay Prime – James Cobb – 6:30 – 10:00 – 693-8802

A word of caution: I’m doing the best I can to present an accurate music schedule, but to be sure, it would be a great idea to call the restaurant or bar beforehand to confirm.

Weekly Music Schedule

Mario "Chin" Jackson with Musical Vibration at the St. John Arts Festival

St. John News

8 Tuff Miles Race Results

Live Music on St. John Monday, February 28

High Tide – Steven Sloan – 7:00 – 10:00 – 714-6169
La Tapa – Sambacombo – 6:30 – 9:30 – 693-7755
Maho Bay – Bo & Lauren – 8:00 – 10:00
Ocean Grill – Chris Carsel – 6:30 – 9:30 – 693 3304
Rhumb Lines – David Laabs – 7:00 – 10:00

A word of caution to my visitors: I’m doing the best I can to present an accurate music schedule, but to be sure, it would be a great idea to call the restaurant or bar beforehand to confirm.

Weekly Music Schedule

St. John Virgin Islands National Park Beaches
Big Maho Bay

St. John News
The Cruz Bay Dinghy Dock has been repaired. From the blog, News of St. John, Frank Barnako reports:
St. John Dinghy Dock’s Done!

Live Music on St. John Today, Tuesday, February 8

Castaways – Steve & Friends – 7:30 – 777-3316
High Tide – T-Bird and Kenny – 7:00 – 10:00 – 714-6169
Island Blues – Bo & Lauren – 7:00 – 10:00 – 776-6800
Larry’s Landing – Classic Rock with John – 10:00 – 1:00 – 693-8802
Morgan’s Mango – Greg Kinslow – Classic, Contemporary & Jazz Guitar – “Lobster Night” – 7:00 – 10:00 – 693-8141
Shipwreck Landing – Chris Carsel – 7:00 – 10:00 – 693-5640
Weekly Music Schedule

Maho Bay

Want an easy shallow benign snorkel, then Maho Bay is a safe bet. It’s easy to get to, shallow, calm and although I wouldn’t classify it as spectacular, it’s just about guaranteed to be interesting. Snorkel the reef on the east or just snorkel over the grass just off the beach. The following photos were taken during the course of a fifteen minute easy snorkel.

Barracuda	Featherduster Worm	French Grunts
Queen Angelfish	Red Hind

From an article by By BENJI LANYADO, Published: December 6, 2009, Sunday Travel Edition
“…Guests here (Maho Bay Campground on Little Maho Bay, St. John US Virgin Islands) often compare notes on what they’ve done. Have you seen the glass-blowing room yet? Did you try a ceramics lesson? Or make jewelry in the workshop? But on our first day, we decided to do very little. Down on Little Maho Bay, reached by a cascade of steps from the camp’s main walkway, we watched as a beachcomber trotted up and down the sand, pecking at the tiny fish that washed up in the surf.

“Little Maho Bay, reached by a cascade of steps from the camp’s main walkway, we watched as a beachcomber trotted up and down the sand, pecking at the tiny fish that washed up in the surf.

“Lying stationary on sarongs pinned down with driftwood on a brochure-perfect strip of Caribbean beach, we couldn’t believe our luck. In a guidebook I purchased at the port, the excellent “St. John Off the Beaten Track” (Sombrero Publishing Company) by Gerald Singer, I read of another visitor who was equally captivated by the bay. Sailing past the beach on a sloop bound for Tortola in 1947, Ethel McCully, a secretary vacationing from New York City, leapt from the deck to swim to the “small, perfect beach backdropped by emerald green mountain valleys.”

“She eventually bought some land, which would abut the campground when it arrived three decades later, and built a small house primarily through the labor of six donkeys. She wrote a book about her experience, which was eventually published as “Grandma Raised the Roof” in 1954, after the publishers insisted that she change her original title from “I Did It With Donkeys.”… read NYT Maho Bay article

Dolphin at Maho Bay

Maho Dolphin entertains boaters at Maho Bay

Yesterday a pair of dolphins put on a show for boaters at moorings, kayakers and swimmers in the vicinity of Maho Bay. The pair cavorted around the spectators, blowing out air from their blowholes and bringing their tails, heads, and dorsal fins to the surface.

Getting good photos of these guys are not easy, especially without a telephoto lens and excellent timing, but I was able to capture two fairly decent shots of the dolphin surfacing while three girls, visitors from our neighboring island, Puerto Rico, swam after them as their mom followed in a kayak.