WanderLuff 2011: St. John, USVI

Kids at V.I. National Park Headquarters, Cruz Bay, St. John.

Idyllic Days in St. John, USVI January 22-24

We checked into BVI customs in Great Harbour on Jost Van Dyke. Although St. John is so close to Tortola, crossing over without checking into customs carries the risk of a $5,000 fine! We wanted to stay several days and couldn’t take the chance. We had a beautiful sail to Caneel Bay on St. John, from there it was a short dinghy ride around the corner to Cruz Bay and USVI customs.

Cruz Bay is now sporting a lovely new National Park Building headquarters which we visited and kids got their Park Passports Stamped. Almost 2/3 of the island is National Park thanks to Laurance Rockefeller after his experience sailing there in the early 1950’s. It is wonderful that they have strict guidelines protecting the valuable coral reefs.

National Park Service Moorings are available in the harbors we visited for $15/night. It was a welcome change with very few other charter boats housing big crowds, mostly private boats. Caneel Bay had two large sea turtles swimming around our moorings constantly- it was a treat. The kids had a great time on Honeymoon Beach at Caneel building and playing.

January 23

We left our mooring at Caneel and picked up a day mooring to snorkel at Henley Cay. The coral was spectacular, showcasing the color and growth we had missed in the BVI. Lots of fish and many different coral types. It is a must see spot for any trip we make here in the future.

Our next stop was Trunk Bay and we got another day mooring to visit the beach and the National Park Service underwater snorkel trail. It was a busy beach with tourists on the sand and on the underwater snorkel trail (a little like Rt. 128 at rush hour). We still enjoyed it and saw lots of fish and coral that was healthier than most we had seen in the BVI.

We spent the night a beautiful Maho Bay in about 8 ft. of water. The scene was tranquil beauty and lots more sea turtles!

January 24

We dinghied to a few yards over to the beach at Francis Bay. We beached our dinghy and hiked over to the Annaberg Sugar Mill ruins. This was a NPS site that had been restored. It was a great chance for the kids to see and learn about the early Danish sugar mill plantations (the Danish owned the USVI until the US bought them in 1917). The mill was constructed in 1797 and processed sugar cane. Columbus had brought sugar cane on his second trip to the Caribbean in the late 1400’s where it flourished. Slave labor ensured that the enterprise was profitable since the islands were difficult to farm because of the terrain and climate.

We also ran into some wild donkeys- descendants of the original animals brought to the island to carry out work at the mills.

Our night time spot was a NPS mooring in Leinster Bay around the point. This bay was the site of a fantastic little island with superb snorkeling called Waterlemon Cay. We spent the afternoon there snorkeling among the colorful coral and fishes.