Saint John Beaches Post Hurricane Irma

It has been about 3 months since the storms and I hadn't been over to St. John yet. So, last week I headed over to check things out, I really wanted to see how the beaches had changed and how the progress of cleaning up was going. 

I took the North Shore Road all the way out to start with the Annaberg Ruins. The ruins had very little damage, not suprising since they are so old, and looked as beautiful as ever. 

Next up was Maho Beach. There was a lot of work happening at Maho for clean up. The kissing trees that everyone loves are gone but the bay looked pretty.

Cinnamon Bay Beach area had a lot of damage, the old building right on the water was a pile of debris, yet the beach looked stunning and the water looked inviting. There were a few sunbathers at the beach.

It was extra special to run into a few wild donkeys on the road, such a St. John must see. 

Trunk Bay Beach had some damage and the photo above is my attempt at making it look bad... it's just so darn pretty that it doesn't have a bad side even after 2 cat 5 hurricane storms. Hands down Trunk Beach is still stunning.

Hawksnest Bay Beach had the most people on it, kina made it feel a little more normal. It really didn't look that bad overall. You can see that Gibney Beach lost a bunch of palms in the background. The water feels like it's higher on most of the shoreline overall and I noticed it a lot more at this beach.

The overlook from Cruz Bay (above) was stunning. Looks like the harbor and water has really been cleaned up. Ran out of time and didn't make it into town but Mongoose Junction seemed fully open and happening. 

As always it was a nice day on Love City!!!!

Here is the link to check out Saint Thomas's Beach update.

Saint Thomas Beaches Post Hurricane Irma

It has been about 7 weeks since Hurricane Irma hit the U.S. Virgin Islands. I just had to find out what the beaches looked like after the storm on Saint Thomas. My friend Mike and I spent the morning driving around the island beach hopping.  This is what we found….

Our first stop was Limetree Beach. Prior to the storm this was one of my favorite beaches to photograph at. Unfortunately, Limetree Beach is a bit washed-out and lost a lot of sand. I’m sure it’s a matter of time before the sand will shift and make it beautiful again. Bluebeard’s Beach Club doesn’t plans to reopen for some time while they rebuild some of the supporting buildings around the property.

Bolongo Bay Beach also lost a lot of sand from flooding.  One of the owners, Richard Doumeng, was kind enough to give us an update. They are already housing a bunch of workers and islanders that have been displaced from the hurricane. Iggie’s Beach Bar has moved over to the pool area, they’re now calling it Iggie’s Oasis, and is serving drinks and food. The pool looked amazing and I have plans to go back and hang out. The Bolongo sailboat wasn’t harmed and is back at the dock and ready to go sailing. They don’t have an exact date that they will reopen fully but it sounded like it could be as soon as the beginning of 2018.  Everyone at Bolongo Bay Beach Resort seemed very positive and welcoming as always.

The next stop was Secret Harbour Beach Resort. This resort looked great overall. The sand on the beach is in the process of being groomed.  The Cruzan Beach Club at Sunset Grill is open for lunch and dinner. They didn’t say an exact date they will be reopening but I do know for sure I have a bride and groom staying here the week of Thanksgiving. 

Sapphire Beach looked more amazing after the storm. Really, it does, there wasn’t any seaweed on the beach. The palm trees need to regrow out on the point but the view of St. John is still stunning. It looked like the beach bar is open and I would imagine you could still stay here since a lot of the rooms are listed privately.

Lindquist Beach looks amazing as always. The sand has changed a little bit, there is less of a slope and the point on the left looks smaller. The water looks amazing and was so inviting.  This has to be my favorite beach on Saint Thomas right now!

Magens Bay Beach was our last stop. They are working hard on getting this beach cleaned up and ready to open the first week of November (next week.) I wasn’t able to see most of the beach, so I don’t have a ton to report on it. I know there was a lot of damage but from what I could see it still looked stunning. As soon as they open I will have more photos.

There are a few more St. Thomas Beaches on my list that I didn’t get to, like Emerald Beach and Brewers Beach. I have heard that Hull Bay Beach is looking better then ever with a bunch of new sand that has washed up.  Please let me know if there is a beach you would like an update on that I’ve left out. I’m ready to go swimming!!!!!