IslandRootsUSVI - Blog

All is Well on a Sunday Afternoon

Marcia Stewart — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 01:01:00 +0000

Today we took out our guest Lisa Holderer to Newfound Bay northeast side of St John for a snorkel with the turtles. I always see turtles here and they didn’t disappoint today. After a picnic on the boat, we left for more snorkeling at Hurricane Hole and who should we run into but the schooner Harvey Gamage built at South Bristol Maine, our home town. I know they spend winters here, and we usually spot them somewhere. So that was fun, as was the rest of our Sunday afternoon on Island Roots.

Willy T, Soggy Dollar and Back

Marcia Stewart — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 13:07:25 +0000

Yesterday I had Steve DiTomasso and friends Todd James and Dan Weidman, all from Pittsburgh, on board Island Roots. After a Caneel Bay pick up and a West End Tortola custom clear in, it was off to Norman Island. To the Indians and the Caves? No, these guys wanted something different. Since it was a calm day with flat seas, we decided to do a little exploring. First stop was Carrot Rock, south side of Peter Island. Looked like good snorkeling, but no mooring buoy, so we headed for the south side of Norman Is and Money Bay. There is a dive mooring off the southeast point of Norman, but it was occupied so we continued on. At the head of Money Bay is a sweet little anchorage, but a cruising boat was in residence, We dropped our hook a little further west in a sandy spot surrounded by numerous coral heads. Nice snorkeling, not as many fish as I hoped for.

Back on board, continuing westward, there is a really spectacular cliff, sort of like Rams Head. Then around the southwest end, the Caves and into the Bight. Which is the home of the Willy T! We had fish and chips, pronounced excellent, and met a couple of photogenic young ladies. As always, Zeus was most entertaining.

To the Soggy Dollar Bar, and you can guess the rest. Painkillers and fun in the sun. These guys will definitely be back to the BVIs and Island Roots.

The Newly Weds

Marcia Stewart — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 01:23:52 +0000

Friday, Island Root celebrated with Keith Walter and Ronda Violette, newlyweds from North Carolina on their honeymoon. Ronda and Keith were staying at the Ritz Carlton on St Thomas, and I picked them up beachside for a day of BVI exploration. First stop after customs was the Caves on Norman Island.

The Adventure Begins

This was also Ronda’s first snorkel experience. She took to it like a duck, but she thought the fish a little pushy. They probably wanted her to feed them.

Headed for the Caves

We took a quick tour around the Willie T. and Pirates Bight (too early too eat) and then cruised downwind for lunch at the Soggy Dollar Bar on Jost van Dyke.

Relaxing in the Sun, and Lovin' It!

After sunning, swimming, more sunning, lunch and painkillers, Ronda pronounced charter boating much more fun than camping.

Ronda will be Back, Keith too!

I think she’ll be back to the Virgin Islands. Keith too.
Back to the Ritz, they prepared for a boat ride to ZoZo’s Ristorante on St John for elegant food and delicious desserts. That’s starting the marriage off right.

Headed for the Barn and Still Humming

Marcia Stewart — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 01:03:11 +0000

Today I brought Island Roots to Crown Bay, St Thomas to have my old 150 Yamahas replaced with brand new 2010, 150 Yamahas. Re-powering is not inexpensive, but hopefully it means no downtime due to repairs and tardy parts shipments. Properly maintained, these new outboards should last 10 years or more.

It was an absolutely beautiful day on the water, light N breeze and flat calm, plenty of sunshine, not too hot. Perfect day for a charter. I bet Kevin on Born to Rhumb and John Brandi, Palm Tree charters were out. Good for them and their passengers. There seems to be a lot of vacationers around right now.

Ram's Clear and Bright

I took a few photos going around Rams Head and then a few heading into Crown Bay. I couldn’t help notice several thirty-something foot sailboats on the rocks here, as well as several more when I went past Chocolate Hole. I suppose the beach at the Westin in Great Cruz Bay must be cleaned up by now. They had more boats blown ashore there. Earle made quite an impact.

The old Yamahas just hummed all the way to Offshore Marine in Crown Bay, as if they wanted to go out as loyal as ever. A fellow Coral Bay captain is buying them from me. I know they’ll give him many years of reliable service.

Approaching Crown Bay

I should be back in the water by the weekend. They are very professional at Offshore Marine; they’ll take good care of us.

Yamaha, Offshore Marine

Let’s Talk About the Rain

Marcia Stewart — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 11:20:33 +0000

Some of you may have noticed two distinct literary styles on the Island Roots blog and wall postings. That is because some are written by the captain and others by the captain’s wife. It is probably obvious whose are whose; the creative, thoughtful postings would belong to Marcia, and the rather stilted, rambling text would be my humble efforts. It is much easier to keep a more constant flow of information pertaining to Island Roots and the Coral Bay community coming if we share the responsibility.

More rain on the way

Now having got that bit of housekeeping out of the way, did we ever get a lot of rain last night. At least 6 inches on top of the previous night’s 2 inches; on top of the 20 something last month from Otto. Enough already. Tropical storm Tomas was involved somehow in this weekend’s weather. A sort of spin-off, the locals say.
Island Roots is anchored right off the dingy dock in Coral Bay and when I rowed out this morning, it had stopped raining and the water was pretty brown and murky. The Coral Bay Community Council and some government agencies have formulated a storm water management plan and have constructed a sedimentation-settling pond off Kings Hiway, just before you get to Josephine’s, other side of the road. It seems to be working, but a little further along, again before Josephine’s, the existing drainage dip in the road has been totally ripped up by rampaging waters, with huge chunks of concrete lying askew down stream of the road. This was a result of Otto, not this weekend, but when we woke this morning we could clearly hear the sound of a river running nearby. It comes out near what used to be Pickles and has made a muddy mess of that area. Love City minimart had a foot of water on the floor after Otto. So Coral Bay is a little soggy tonight, but it doesn’t seem to dampen anyone’s spirits. More tomorrow.

More Rain

Here We Are Between Halloween and Thanksgiving

Marcia Stewart — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 22:28:20 +0000

Today was somewhere between Halloween and Thanksgiving. Our adventure started as we maneuvered ‘Island Roots’ out of the driveway. Lumbering down the dirt road and up the hill, we dodged two-foot gullies as we navigated the streambed towards Coral Bay. Hurricanes Earle and Otto had left their marks etched in big rocks and boulders and pot holes ready to swallow up the unsuspecting. If you’re familiar with acacia trees, you know they hate to let go. Long thorny branches grab and tear at what ever they can latch onto. That was the scary part. Our triumphant arrival at the marina, with aqua water beckoning, is the blessing–we are truly thankful for this successful start of the season. Now let’s go have some fun!

The Adventure Begins

Headed for the Gates

A Thankful Capt. John

Greetings from St. John!

Joshua Jacobs — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 13:57:32 +0000

Two hour delay in Miami, and we found ourselves on the island of ST. Thomas headed for Red Hook at about 5 pm. The race for daylight was lost. By 6:30 we said good by to the setting sun and hello to Cruz Bay. Full of nervous anticipation, we hail the first safari taxi. Reports gleaned from the Tradewinds had described 2 hurricanes, 25” of rain during the month of Oct, washed out roads and landslides. (I also need to interject here, the hasty response of public works received glowing reviews in the same reporting.) The 8 Tuff miles from Cruz Bay to Coral Bay were uneventful. Steamy night air and the serenade of the night frogs welcomed us to our island home. Yes, the elephant grasses were the beneficiaries of the rain- towering 10 feet in places. We were sad to bid adieux to a few of our landscape staples, the shallow rooted acacia. Lucky for us I had packed a key chain LED flashlight. We managed all the necessary locks to throw the circuit breakers and disbar all the hurricanes shutters. Our first comments to one another- ‘Isn’t this beautiful!’ All systems are GO.

By 8pm we headed to Skinny Legs for our first burgers in paradise. And by 10 we had hung the mosquito net*, and tumbled into bed in anticipation to a full day of reclaiming our island lives tomorrow.

*we have seen only one mosquito since our arrival

Island Roots All Wrapped Up

Cabana In A Jungle

To Soggy Dollar and Back

Marcia Stewart — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 12:59:44 +0000

Plenty of sunshine, refreshing tropical drinks, warm clear waters, AND (best of all) good times with great friends at the Soggy Dollar and back–this is the magic combo that makes these happy Island Roots customers.

Exploring the Indians

@ Soggy Dollar - a Jost Van Dyke landmark

Would you want to vacation with this guy?

New Website Launched!

Joshua Jacobs — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 11:20:47 +0000

We are please to announce the launch of our website. You can find information about our tours, the captain, and some common questions. We’ll also be posting to this blog so stay tuned for updates!