Welcome back!

The Charlotte Amalie waterfront in the 1970s presented a picturesque scene of native sloops, fishing boats and local cargo vessels tied up to the seawall. On the paved walkway along the harbor front were numerous kiosks selling fruits and vegetables, meats and fish.

In those days, St. Thomas was a sailing Mecca. The harbor was full of yachts of all sizes and classes, some itinerant, some local and some there to take part in the charter industry. Experienced captains took adventurous tourists to the then sparsely developed British Virgin Islands or further away to the down island chain of the Lesser Antilles or west to Culebra, Vieques and Puerto Rico.

Yacht Haven Marina was the center of this industry and the center of the center was Fearless Fred’s Bar at the Marina where charter captains would pitch would be charters and old salts would spin tales of adventures and misadventures at sea.

This was before the popularity of the bare boat rental system in which charterers rent a boat for a week or more and sail it themselves.

By the 1980s the nature of  charter boat industry in the US Virgin Islands had changed with bare boats predominating over crewed charters. While the US Virgin Islands’ government imposed complicated restrictions, taxes and fees on charter yachts favoring instead the cruise ship industry, the British Virgin Islands actively courted the charter yacht companies and tried to make it as easy as possible for them. As a result many USVI companies changed their base of operations to the BVI whose government was more responsive to the needs of the industry and little by little most of the sailing yachts left the Charlotte Amalie Harbor setting up shop in places like Sopers Hole and Roadtown on the island of Tortola.

The Yacht Haven hotel and Marinaf closed down, went into a state of disrepair remained so for many years.

Recently the charter industry on St. Thomas has made a comeback of sorts. More and more you can see luxury mega yachts tied up stern-to along the waterfront seawall, at anchor in the harbor and alongside the docks at the Yacht Haven Grande, the new incarnation of the old Yacht Haven now featuring a modern marina, a high end shopping mall and a condominium complex. The operation was designed specifically to attract the mega yacht business and has had a limited degree of success, but not to the extent that was predicted.

Rumor has it that one of the big reasons that mega yachts are not stopping in the USVI as much as was previously expected is due to complications and red tape imposed by Homeland Security and Customs and Immigration regarding foreign registered vessels and non-US citizen charterers and crews. On Tortola in the neighboring British Virgin Islands and on nearby St. Martin, which have somewhat comparable facilities the governments have endeavored to make it as easy as possible for the Mega Yachts to enter and clear and captains, trying to avoid red tape and delays, will often opt for these foreign destinations instead of St. Thomas if they have a choice in the matter.

Notwithstanding the problems, it seems to me that Charlotte Amalie Harbor has been making a comeback as a sailing destination, especially in the realm of the super luxurious mega yachts.

St.Thomas Dockside Scuttlebutt
I rent a little dock space over at Sapphire Marina on St. Thomas and today I noticed that the marina was just about full. This is unusual for this time of year, when many of the boats take leave of the Virgin Islands during the dread Atlantic Hurricane Season. The other thing I noticed was that most of the formerly empty slips were now occupied by a fleet of top of the line sport-fishing boats.

I was told that most of these newly arrived vessels were refugees from the Gulf oil spill.

The sport fishing industry in the Gulf of Mexico is in big trouble. Really big, like it’s just about not happening at all, not now and probably not for a long time to come. Consequently, those in the sport fishing industry and who want to continue doing what they love to be doing are relocating, and many of them have chosen to come here to the Virgin islands, which some say is the sport fishing capitol of the world.

A captain from the Gulf Coast, who had arrived here on his sport fisherman described coming upon part of the spill.

Being someone who has never seen an oil spill, I had imagined it to be a shimmering film of oil floating on top of the water, making rainbow like colors in the sunshine, but something you could drive a boat through. Not even close.  The captain described it as an extremely large floating mass of thick gooey oil some 100 yards wide and an incredible six feet deep, a disgusting, impassable, mess that gets bigger every day.

It’s good to have new business come to the Virgin Islands, but not like this.

View of Europa Bay from the White Cliffs Trail

If you’re in decent physical shape and enjoy hiking on St. John and you’re looking for a good hike recommendation, I have one for you: the Lameshur Bay to Reef Bay loop.

This loop will not only provide you with access to the Reef Bay Sugar Mill ruins on the Reef Bay Trail, the waterfall fed pool where Taino Indians made carvings in the rocks called the the petroglyphs and the Par Force Great House where wealthy plantation owners made their home, but it will also lead you on an adventurous journey along a dramatic cliffside trail with breathtaking views, a coastal scramble along a coral rubble beach and access to a remote salt pond and reef protected shallow water lagoon.

Note: The White Cliffs portion of the loop is not an official National Park trail and consequently no official maintenance is being done. My point is, check out this outstanding trail sooner rather than later while it is still in such good condition Experience tells me it won’t be this good forever.

Although there are several modifications and alternative options the basic hike would go something like this:

1) Lameshur Bay Trail from Lameshur Bay to the Europa Spur Trail
2) Europa Spur to the beach at Europa Bay
3) Walk along the beach towards the point (White Point)
4) Pick up the Trail that goes inland and climbs steeply up to the White Cliffs Trail that runs on top of a ridge above the White Cliffs on St. John’s the southern coast between Europa and Reef Bay.
5) Follow the White Cliffs Trail until it ends on the beach at the eastern end of Reef Bay
6) Walk west along the beach as far as you can without getting wet and then walk through the mangrove forest to the Reef Bay Sugar Mill Ruins.
7) Take the Reef Bay Trail to the Lameshur Bay Trail and then hike back to Lameshur Bay.

Bring water! A camera, snacks and bug repellent might also be good ideas.

Highlights

Lameshur Bay Trail from Lameshur Bay to the Europa Spur Trail
The beginning of the Lameshur Bay Trail passes through some dry forest lowlands. It’s an easy flat and shady walk – a good beginning. Check out the large tamarind tree by the side of the trail. Looks like it was split in half by lightening once upon a time.

If you have plenty of energy, you can check out the Europa Point Trail for some outstanding overlooks and photo ops, but remember the loop is rather long so perhaps the exploration of Europa Point should be left to the end of the adventure, just to see if you really do have that extra energy.

If you’re in luck like I often am, you’ll see a deer or two on this section of the hike. They seem to like it around here.

Europa Bay
The Europa Bay Trail will take you to the beach at Europa Bay. Walk south towards the point to the end of the beach where you’ll find the entrance to the White Cliffs Trail.

Entrance to Europa Bay Beach from the Europa Bay Spur Trail

Europa bay Salt Pond

Me at Europa Bay - photo by Ezius Ashley

Native Orchids

White Cliffs Trail
At the end of the beach you should find a narrow but well defined trail that heads inland and then runs steeple up the hillside to the ridge above. It’s a bit tough going because of the steepness, but before you know it you’ll have reached the top. You’ll pass by some beautiful rock formations after which you should start seeing countless native orchids which seem to be everywhere along this trail and along the ridge top.

Near the top of the trail there are some great overlooks down towards Europa Bay. At the top of the steep trail, there are some more great vantage points. The White Cliffs Trail heads west from here, but you can go east for a little while and enjoy a great view towards the southeastern coastline, Kiddle, Grootpan and Salt Pond Bays.

The trail is presently in great condition and you shouldn’t have a problem following it. Once you get the section above the White Cliffs, there will be plenty of opportunities for great photographs as the trail follows the edge of a steep cliff side that descends from the ridge down to the sea.

To Reef Bay and back to Lameshur
After passing over the White Cliffs, the White Cliff Trail descends down to the beach at the eastern end of Reef Bay. A barrier reef, which forms a long semi circle around the bay comes ashore nearby. Behind the reef is a shallow lagoon, which may or may not be under water depending on the tide and time of year. This lagoon provides protection for many varieties of sea life and is an integral part of island and ocean environments.

Walk east along the beach as long as you can and then enter the mangrove forest proceeding in the same general direction until you get to the sugar mill ruins.

From there take the Reef Bay Trail to the Lameshur Bay Trail.

Note: This was not the first time that I hiked the White Cliff Trail, but this is the first time that I had my good camera with me. Read about my previous White Cliffs trail hike.

Trebuchet

Catapult New Hampshire Style

Catapult Virgin Islands Style

In response to yesterday’s blog about the traditional Virgin Islands slingshot, my good buddy, Bob, “the Trail Bandit” Garrison wrote:

I liked your catapult story. Up here in the Nawth, we are better armed. Attached are a couple of pictures of the New Hampshire catapult that I built. Come to Henniker, NH on the last Saturday in September. I put on the best, free, chicken barbecue around. Lunch is at noon, pumpkins will be hurled. And if it is a nice day, people will be doing silly things in airplanes.
I hope all is well.
Bob

By the way, Bob’s trebuchet can hurl a 13-pound pumpkin more than 1/10 mile (600 Feet) and “they hit hard”

A trebuchet or trebucket (from the French: trébuchet) is a siege engine that was employed in the  Middle Ages either to smash masonry walls or to lob projectiles over them and into the castle under siege…read more from Wikpedia

the morning was crisp and clear

I just got back on island from a trip to America. A great visit. “Chirren dem” (kids) and lots of love and generally beautiful spring weather. Nonetheless, St John is a great place to come home to.

There were several big squalls last night, some with heavy rain and thunderclaps that would just about knock you out of bed, but the morning was crisp and clear.

The garden looked good. My prize mangoes were coming in nicely. The lime tree was in flower with baby limes forming out on all the branches. The “square foot garden” was overflowing with basil, mint and oregano.

mango

baby lime

oregano

The most interesting garden event, however was the flowering of some very special orchids. The orchid story goes like this:

The house I live in was built on the site where a another house once stood, that is until Hurricane Marilyn came along in 1995. The couple who lived here then told me that because the house was not really strongly constructed and lay exposed to the winds on the east, they choose not to stay there and spent the night safely at a friend’s home.

The next morning they drove out to survey the damage if any. About a block from the house they saw their refrigerator lying in the road.

“Not a good sign,” said the guy to his wife.

All that was left was the cistern and tile covered concrete slab that constituted the main floor. Wooden beams and furniture and roofing and all the other countless pieces and parts and wires and fixtures that make up a house lay strewn about the property.

Some years later I bought the land and the cistern and slab and built a new house on the site, this time out of bricks and mortar, like the third little pig who wanted some protection against the big bad wolf who huffed and puffed and blew houses down.

The property was also a mess. Most of the bigger trees were broken. Wild tamarind had sprouted up anywhere there was a light gap and over the years many had gotten quite large. In short, the yard was a mess.

Over time and, as the Beatles wrote, “with a little help from my friends,” the land was cleaned up and the result was a rather beautiful canopied native dry forest.

Below the deck I planted bananas, mostly from slips given to me by my friend Calis Sewer and in the tree branches I placed the first orchids of my growing collection, compliments of Trinidad Charlie.

Over the years the orchids spread through the trees becoming quite extensive in places. But for some reason, unlike many of the orchids purchased from various stores and nurseries,  Charlie’s orchids never bloomed. They grew and reproduced and spread and the leaves and stems were green and hearty, but no flowers bloomed, not for ten years, not, that is, until now.

This morning as I walked through the yard, there they were! All of Charlie’s orchids in bloom, beautiful little flowers, reaching through the leaves and foliage from the tree branches and trunks at the end of long spindly stalks.

Ruin on Great Thatch, British Virgin Islands

Great Thatch

Great Thatch Island lies just to the north of St. John.  The approximately half-mile passage between Great Thatch and the St. John coast from the rocky cliffs of Mary Point and the steep tyre palm covered hillsides between there and Leinster Bay form “the Narrows,” characterized by gusty winds and strong tidal currents.

I’ve snorkeled there and once camped out on the beach, but I always thought of the interior of the island to be impenetrable bush on cliff-like hillsides, maybe suitable for goats, but not people. I was wrong.

Guided by a good friend and knowledgeable Virgin Islander, I took the opportunity to explore for the first time, the island’s interior.

We began our adventure at the site of an unfinished building on the far eastern corner of the long beach on the southern coast. Rumor has it that this was to be a built as a restaurant. Work started about 1997, but was plagued by misfortune. Supposedly a dump truck full of gravel arriving by barge got stuck in the sand and remained stuck for quite some time. It was eventually removed, but I never heard how. The same sand that the truck got stuck in, made the site look like a desirable beach location, but that was an anomaly, the natural state of that section of beach is gravel, to which it returned and is to this day. So much for rumor.

stone retaining wall on lower side of road

We headed straight up the hill in back of the building through a forest of mostly genip trees growing very close together. The vegetation was thick, but passable and we soon came to an old road bed running gradually up along the hillside. We followed the road until my friend inexplicably decided that we should leave the road and continue straight up again towards the ridge, which we did, and which led us to the first of a series of ruins.

Great Thatch, British Virgin Islands

outbuilding above the road	cook house	animal corral
cistern	cookhouse doorway	view from ruin

Smuggling and Great Thatch
I came across this little tidbit of historical information, which gives, among other things, a little picture of life on this island that I always thought to be either uninhabited or at least sparsely so.

“On being informed on November 24 (1856) that a boat belonging to an inhabitant of (Great) Thatch Island was trading without a license, the sub-treasurer of Tortola proceeded to seize it. He soon had to abandon the seizure, however, when he was assaulted and the crew of his boat badly beaten. Two days later, a force consisting of four constables was dispatched by the stipendiary magistrate to arrest the offenders. On landing they were obstructed by 40 or 50 people, and when the persevered and made their arrest were also severely beaten. On the following day, a larger force comprising 30 men, principally rural constables, 12 of whom were armed, was dispatched to quell the spirit of insubordination and to apprehend the offenders. Despite this show of force, it was only the assistance of the Wesleyan missionaries who were influential among the inhabitants, which enabled 16 arrests to be made without active opposition.” From “A History of the British Virgin islands” by Issac Dookhan

Great Thatch’s connection with smuggling may not be confined to the nineteenth century as rumors abound about bales of illicit drugs being found washed up on the shoreline there.

The name of the island itself suggests something nefarious. It is said that Thatch is a corruption of the name Teach and that the islands given the Thatch name, Thatch Cay in the US Virgins, and Great and Little Thatch in the British were named after the pirate Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard.

Bottles
On our walk we encountered many old bottles as well as other artifacts. It seems that this might help to date how recently people were still living on the island. Many of the bottles it turns out were manufactured by the Portobello bottle company in Edinburgh, Scotland after 1907.

One More T’ing
All during our walk we could hear the bleating of a goat, but we could never see him. Just as I was leaving a spotted him…

Cane Garden Bay, Tortola, British Virgin Islands

But women and water are in short supply
There’s not enough dope for us all to get high
I hear it gets better, that’s what they say
As soon as we sail on to Cane Garden Bay
From Mañana by Jimmy Buffet

Callwood Rum Distillery, Cane Garden Bay, Tortola, British Virgin Islands

Getting there is half the fun
The weekend get-off-the-rock excursion brought our little gang, Max, Michelle, Ezius and I to Cane Garden Bay on the island of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. We left Great Cruz Bay in what’s been dubbed by my brother, Mario, “The Volvo,” a 15-foot Carib hard bottom inflatable powered by that trusty product of Japanese technology, a 60 horsepower Yamaha four stroke. I love this boat!

Being out at sea in the Virgin Islands never gets old for me. I’m getting kind of tired of all those adjectives to describe our islands, so let me just say that its unbelievably beautiful.

Leaving Great Cruz Bay we head north past the barge landing and Frank Bay and Gallows Point and out little town of Cruz Bay. Rounding Lind Point we run along St. John’s north shore passing beach after beach of the best beaches in the whole world, Salomon, Caneel, Hawksnest, Trunk, Cinnamon, Maho while on our left dozens of cays and rocks enhance the amazing seascape backdropped by the big island of St. Thomas in the west. Next we pass through the Fungi Passage separating Whistling Cay and Mary Point, the rocky cliff side on St. John where it is rumored that the last holdout of rebellious slaves from the 1733 St. John Slave Rebellion committed suicide rather than surrender.

National Park Service Ranger, Denise George. once told me that Fungi Passage got it’s name because like traditional Virgin Islands Fungi, (a dish made with cornmeal and okra and often served with fish as in “fish ‘n’ fungi”) It’s smooth! Maybe she made up that story, but it’s a good one and the passage is invariably calm.

Next we run up the Narrows with the dramatic cliffs and steep hillsides with their stands of tall elegant tyre palms on the St. John side and the island of Great Thatch, named after Edward Teach, or better known as Blackbeard, on the other.  And then we cross the channel to Tortola, passing Belmont Bay, also known as Smugglers Cove, then we continue on Tortola’s north coast passing Long Bay and the surfing Meccas of Apple and Carrot Bays and on to out destination fro the day, Cane Garden Bay.

Cane Garden Bay
I remember sailing into Cane Garden Bay some thirty years ago for the first time. The long stretch of white coral sand beach, protected practically it’s whole length by a reef lying about 50 yards offshore was practically deserted. Two commercial establishments offered amenities to locals, tourists and visiting yachtsmen (or to be politically correct should I say yatchtspersons or perhaps yachts men-and-women?) Towards the center of the bay was Stanley’s Welcome Bar with the iconic tire swing hanging from a palm tree and serving fresh Caribbean lobster nightly and on some nights offering music and dancing. Rhymers on the east also had a restaurant, plus there were showers a general store, and rooms available for rent.

Over the years the beach became more and more developed, but notwithstanding it by and large kept its Virgin Islands’ flavor and ambiance. I always thought that the development there was a good thing. A place where you had the opportunity to experience something more than just the normal beach stuff like swimming, sunning and snorkeling. at Cane Garden Bay you could also find real native restaurants, water sports rentals and live music even  big concerts with well known artists every once and a while.

We on St. Thomas and St. John didn’t have anything like it. Development of the beaches on St. Thomas was quite another matter. Big condominium projects and hotels bought up the beach fronts, which became their exclusive property. On St. John, the best beaches had become the property of the Virgin Islands National Park with only carefully controlled park concessions on Trunk and Cinnamon Bays, protected but lacking any semblance of Virgin islands native culture. So the moderately developed beaches on Tortola offered a pleasant change and positive addition to the beach experience.

Now, however, a new dynamic has come to play on Cane Garden Bay, as well as some other popular beaches, namely White Bay on Jost Van Dyke and the Baths on Virgin Gorda. We’re talking cruise ships!

On this visit to Cane Garden Bay, when I saw the line of beach lounges three rows deep from one end of the beach to the other, I guess, for me, the development I had once appreciated had become a bit too much.

Talking to some locals, I was given to understand that there is a certain appreciation for the cruise industry as far as the boost it gives to the BVI economy.

On the other hand, many locals worry about the stress cruise ships have on the infrastructure, the environment, the culture and the people of the British Virgin Islands.

Meanwhile for those of us who care, there is no shortage of undeveloped beaches, forests and mountainsides to enjoy not only on Tortola, but also throughout both the British and American Virgin Islands.

What a cool place to call home!!!

G

Chocolate Hole, St. John, US Virgin Islands

Another Beautiful Night on St. John

Mary Bartolucci of Island Style Weddings and Katherine Steinborn of Katilady Events are pleased to announce the formation of the Virgin Island Chapter of the Association for Wedding Professionals International.  The first social mixer will be held on April 13, 210 @ 6PM on St Thomas at Norbu.  Norbu, located in Peterborg, St Thomas is the most elegant of wedding venues.  “We are thrilled that the owners of Norbu have offered their amazing location for our first mixer.” The purpose of starting a local chapter of the Association is to bring together ALL wedding professionals for networking and educational purposes.  Anyone in the wedding industry within the US Virgin Island is most welcome to become a member and to attend our bimonthly get together.

Association for Wedding Professionals International (AFWPI) is an international organization dedicated to providing quality service and a central source of information and referrals – for those planning weddings and those who service weddings. We have a fully staffed Association office dedicated to the support of our members and the brides. We have been providing services for the wedding industry since 1995.

Members receive benefits through networking and discounted services. Brides and grooms receive free referrals to wedding professionals. Members have agreed to a set code of ethics, assuring greater confidence in shopping with them.

Mary and Kati have been members of the International Association  for the past two yrs. Mary has travelled to the Philippines and Mexico on AFWPI on FAM (Familiarization) trips.  Kati also participated in the Mexico FAM trip.  The FAM trips offer not only an educational experience in another location for destination weddings but also a great opportunity to network with other wedding professionals.  “The experience that we have received from traveling to other destination wedding locations has been immeasurable.  We have been able to expand our knowledge by learning from other destinations.  More Fam trips are planned one being in Tobago soon.”

For more information on joining the Association or the upcoming event- contact  mary@islandstyleweddings.com or kati@katilady.com

Virgin Islands View August 1966

click to enlarge

Maureen Anderson, who worked at the Virgin Islands Hotel in 1966 was kind enough to lend me this edition of the Virgin Islands View Magazine published in August of 1966. The photo on the left was taken in 1966 during an Air France promotion at the Virgin Islands Hotel on St. Thomas.  The cute young lady in the first row is Maureen and the black man in the last row is Tiger Haynes.

“Tiger Haynes (December 13, 1914 – February 14, 1994) was an American actor and musical performer. He was born as George Haynes in Frederiksted, St. Croix, and moved to New York when he was a boy. An ex-boxer, Haynes played guitar with The Three Flames from 1945 to 1956, a group which had its own NBC radio show in the mid-1940s and a television show on NBC television in 1949. He made his mainstream Broadway debut in Leonard Sillman’s musical revue New Faces of 1956.[3] He is best known for his portrayal of the Tin Man in the original Broadway cast of the the Wiz. He also made several television appearances on programs such as The Cosby Show (1989) and In the Heat of the Night (1989), as well as numerous minor film appearances in films such as All That Jazz (1979) and Ratboy (1986)” From the Wikipedia website.

Virgin Islands View

A.H. Riise, St. Thomas 1966

Scott Hotel St. Thomas Virgin islands 1966

Scooter Rental

A lot has changed since 1966., one of the most the most obvious being prices. Check it out.

At A.H. Riise offered Johnie walker Red Label Scotch for $2.75/bottle, Mateus Rose wine for $1.50/bottle.

At the Scott Hotel off season rates were as low as $9.00/night for a single and $16.00/night for a double. High season rates were $14.00 to $18.00/night for a single and $22.00 to $28.00/night for a double. Swimming pool and a shower in every room!

And a Honda 90 could be rented for $7.00/day or $38.00 for the whole week.

Parachute Jumpers, St. Thomas 1966

Frenchman's Bay St. Thomas 1966

Here’s some more images. On the left were the parachute jumpers who jumped every Sunday. The instructor in the center is Don Dewerd from Hull Bay. On the right is the view from Frenchman’s Bay before development