Green Musings of an Eco Resort

Sunday, December 30, 2012

The MH

There are a handful of hiking trails within a short distance from Maho Bay Camps, the next one we'll suggest would be the Maria Hope trail. Those of us at Maho (and probably the rest of the island) lovingly just call it "the MH" - usually said with a slight groan of displeasure.

It should be noted that this is NOT an easy trail by any means, it is entirely up hill with no flat areas and a fairly steep grade. If this already sounds unappealing I'll have an alternative suggestion at the end. This trail can also be used as a means to get to the Reef Bay trail head on Centerline, which could lead to the trail to Lamsure, to Saltpond, to Coral Bay & back up the Johnny Horn trail from Coral Bay over to Annaberg then back up the driveway to Maho. If all of those trails are planned as one giant loop for the day then you're in for a challenge! Leave early and bring tons of water. We don't have a name for the entire loop yet, somehow.

You'll start the day by filling your water bottle at Registration or buying plenty of Gatorade at our Maho store, you'll need it! Next you'll walk down the Goat Trail next to Housekeeping and land yourself at Big Maho beach. Walking the beach or the road past the new National Park facilities at the West end of the beach will bring you to the start of the hill to Cinnamon Bay. Walking on the road to the first big hairpin turn to the right you'll see a cement wall in front of you with the letters "MH" spray painted in white. And so starts your uphill battle! Supposedly the trail is .8 miles long, though it will feel more like 8 miles. The best news of the entire hike is that there is an incredible viewing point, as seen below. The tiny white spots are Maho tents, along with Big Maho & Francis Bay. In the center picture you can see Sage Mountain and the West End of Tortola in the distance.

For further details or a little motivation to try this trail just stop by the kitchen and ask for Crispin, our Executive Chef. If he's not in the kitchen then you'll probably find him on the MH, he loves hiking it for exercise just about every morning.

*Alternative* Simply hike the opposite direction! Start at Centerline road and hike down to Maho Bay beach. Think about trying this if you're on the way back to Maho from Cruz Bay or Coral Bay and someone can just drop you at the trail head. That or kick your kids out of the Jeep and tell them to meet you back at Camp if they're being too rowdy in the car!

Whatever your intentions, please be sure to read a detailed history of the trail by Gerald Singer before setting out; it will give you quite a different perspective as you hike.







Monday, December 24, 2012

 The Night Before Christmas
By Inclement Seamore

'Twas the night before Christmas on land and on sea
Not a creature was stirring, not even the donkey.
The stockings were hung on the palm trees with care
In hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there.
The children were nestled all snug in their beds
With visions of coconuts dancing in their heads.
And Mama in her bandanna and I in my straw hat
Were sitting there wondering where Santa was at!
When down on the beach there arose such a clatter
I sprang from my chair to see what was the matter.
Away to the sun deck I flew in a flash
Stepped on a hermit crab and came down in a crash!
The moon on the water it did glow
And gave the luster of midday to objects below.
And what to my wondering eyes I saw on a noose
But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny mongoose!
With a little old driver so lively and quick
I knew in a moment it must be Saint Nick!
More rapid than pelicans, his mongoose they came
And he whistled and shouted and called them by name.
Now Rasta, now Pasta, now Pepper and Chili
On Plantain, on Guava, on Calabash and Willie.
To the top of the deck, to the top of the wall
Dow dash away, dash away, dash away all.
So up to the house top the mongoose they flew
With a sleigh full of toys and Saint Nicholas too.
He was dressed in a swim suit and Maui Jim glasses
And had a sunburn from his head to his.....rear end!
He spoke not a word but went straight to his work
And filled all the stockings and turned with a jerk.
And laying his hand on top of his head
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a yell
And away they all flew like a bat out of .......a cave!
But I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight
Happy Christmas to Maho and to all a Good Night!


.........If you've been here for Christmas you know this rendition well, Captain Fred of The Pepper sailboat will be entertaining us tonight after dinner with this (his) version of The Night Before Christmas

Monday, December 17, 2012

searching for pots of gold

There is more than 1 pot of gold at the end of the rainbow pictured below. This picture was taken at Maho Bay Camps, and it seems to end right at Peter Bay on the North Shore of St. John. The house located at the end of this rainbow was originally listed at $32M and sold last year for $14M. While all other houses in Peter Bay are worth less, we're still talking about 10 or 12 properties currently worth between $3M - $9M; that's quite a few pots of gold, to say the least.




Wednesday, December 5, 2012

If you're out here for dinner at Maho this season you'll have to take a moment to look through our art gallery, located directly off our dining pavilion. Currently on display (and for sale) are the three items below, pieces hand-made by the extremely talented visiting artist GBrian Juk

If you've missed seeing GBrian Juk at one of our free nightly demonstrations (Tuesday through Saturday night 6:30-9:30pm) then you'll get plenty of other opportunities throughout this season to see different visiting artists here at Maho.




Also on display is our new recycled glass & concrete counter top made by Dan Kreofsky. This counter top and all counter tops we make recycle 25-30 bottles per square foot!


Monday, December 3, 2012

Maho Bay Clayworks special announcement

Gail Van de Bogurt and Catherine Perry Welcome Seth Cardew- of The  English Family of Potters December 5th and 6th at Maho Bay Art Center
 
       Island Ceramic artists Gail Van de Bogurt  and Catherine Perry are  honored to announce a very special visiting artist Seth Cardew of Castellon, SPAIN He will be presenting a two part demonstration at the Maho Bay Clay Works Studio Wednesday and Thursday afternoons Dec 5th and 6th, 2-5 PM, wine and cheese following at the studio. Those who wish may gather for dinner at Maho Bay dining pavillion after. There will be a  Friday evening gathering at Catherine Perry’s house on Fortsberg, St. John. All  class participants are invited. A selection of Seth’s masterful work will be available for purchase at that time.
The cost of the full workshop is $95. But for those who cannot attend  the complete workshop, the fee is $75. for one day only. (Priority will be given to full workshop participants.)
Seth Cardew is an internationally known ceramic artist and teacher. Since 1983 he has undertaken lecture tours throughout the English-speaking world describing the early 20th century pottery movement. He lives and works in Spain but travels extensively to lecture and sell his work to collectors worldwide.
Born in 1934 in Gloustershire, England, he is the son of the influential potter Michael Cardew.  Seth studied art and sculpture at the Chelsea School of Art in London and the Camberwell School of Art.  Afterwards, he spent fourteen years in the film industry making clay sets for studios at Borehamwood, Pinewood and Elstree. Sets for the multi-award-winning film Cleopatra are among his credits. In 1971 Cardew joined his father, Michael Cardew, at Wenford Bridge and started potting in earnest in 1974. By the time of  his father's death in 1983, Seth had established himself as an important potter in his own right and took over operation of Wenford Bridge Pottery.
        Because he worked with his father, Michael Cardew, Seth was able to witness the roots of today’s studio pottery movement as it was developing. His father Michael had studied under Bernard Leach when he was younger so the friendship continued over the years while Seth worked at Wenford. Many fine potters were students at Wenford Bridge including Svend Bayer, Clive Bowen, Michael O’ Brian and Danlami Aliyu among others. The energy that was generated there went on to influence a generation of young potters in the United States as well. Creating a wave of experimentation and discovery based on these traditional methods. 
Seth’s son is Ara Cardew, a third generation potter of the Cardew family of potters. He is now a permanent resident of New Hampshire. He has taught several great “Hands-On, Participation Workshops” at Maho Bay Clay Works and will be a visiting artist here in February. For that workshop participants will get a chance to get up to their elbows in mud! Ara will be on hand for his father’s workshop and we anticipate some fun collaborative moments.
We on St. John are honored to have Seth visit us this December. Seth’s pottery style is a slip technique with oxide and cobalt painted on the pottery piece once it has been bisque. Besides demonstrating this technique during his workshop at Maho Bay, he will also be discussing the art of shape making and why we make the forms we do from a function and aesthetic perspective.

Dates and times: Wednesday Dec.5th   2-5pm   Thursday, Dec 6th   2-5pm.
Cost: $95. for the 2 afternoon demonstrations
Register early, as space is limited!

For more information please contact: Gail Van de Bogurt
Maho Bay Clayworks      gail@mahobayclayworks.com   340-776-6226 ext. 226  or  340-514-6594

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Bear & Bean

Ever feel like you just can't stay away from Maho? That whenever you leave you just have to return as soon as possible? We have plenty of guests that feel this way, but now we have 2 dogs that have the same problem!

Pictured below are Bear & Bean, and if they look tired there's a very good reason - they left their home in Fish Bay yesterday and have been traveling on foot (paw?) to Maho for the past 24 hours. The pictures are from 2 months ago, this past Thursday was their 7th such trip to Maho!

      




For those not familiar with the island, Fish Bay is a LONG way away from Maho. The route most likely taken would be Fish Bay to Reef Bay, down to the smoothie stand on Centerline, Francis, then Maho. This can't be confirmed though because we've had reports of seeing them on the Johnny Horn trail and at Annaberg prior to them trotting down our driveway and anxious for fresh water. Any way you look at it, they travel long and hard to visit us each week. The first time took a day to figure out who the owner was, but now we've got her number on speed dial. Pictured below is Kelly, their owner, who has now made plenty of trips to Maho retrieving her pups.

The reason they come here is unclear, but judging by the pictures above they seem to enjoy relaxing on our couches in staff section before Kelly shows up!



Tuesday, November 13, 2012

position open

Ever consider dropping everything and moving to the islands? We may have the opportunity you were waiting for: a job and a place to live! It may only be until we close on May 15th, 2013 but how fun would it be to go snorkeling before or after work? Hiking and boating on your days off? Laying in the sun and calling your friends and family from the beach in December?

Job Title:  Cook
Days and Hours of work: Five days a week 40+ hours

Effective Date:  ASAP thru May 15, 2013  Seasonal Full Time Position

Salary:  $7.25/hour with subsidized meals and free housing.

Applicant should respond to: restaurant@maho.org with a cover letter and resume.

Job requirements: 18 years of age, ability to lift 50 lbs, able to be on feet 8 to 10 hours, positive attitude, high energy, people friendly, retail and culinary experience, team player, ability to handle high stress and volume situations.

Job Description: This is a position for a strong and serious candidate, ideally with multiple years experience and a knowledge of the culinary world.  Candidate will be responsible for following standard menu items set by our Executive Chef.  This position will be working in a high heat, high stress, quantity-based kitchen, working closely with others preparing a large volume of meals. First-class customer service is highly important to Maho Bay Camps, each position at Maho requires extensive guest interaction. A welcoming and friendly demeanor is mandatory and providing Maho guests with a satisfying and positive experience at every opportunity is what we strive to provide. 

Skills:
Knife skills
Self-motivated
Communication
Creative

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Virgin Islands Saver Book

If you're thinking about visiting us this winter but need a little extra savings to seal the deal, we've found the perfect motivator: the Virgin Islands Saver book, priced at $79.

This book is exactly like all the books you've seen in other major cities, only issued for the Virgin Islands. Imagine that...... saving money in the Virgin Islands?!

Maho Bay has 2 deals in the book

1) 5th night free, a $145 value
A purchase of the book pays for itself with this coupon alone!

2) Free Maho Bay glass blowing shirt with purchase of our sea star or ornament glass blowing class, a $25 value. A perfect way to try glass blowing for the first time or start those Christmas present ideas with a hand blown ornament made by yourself.

If you plan on doing anything else besides laying on the beach this book will pay for itself, especially if you use it to come stay with us. You can review our two deals and further details on their website through the links below:

Maho Bay 5th night free

Free shirt with purchase of our sea star or ornament glass blowing class

Monday, October 29, 2012

"The sea was angry that day my friend"


On the official Maho newsworthy items scale that may interest would-be travelers to Maho, this story rates at about a 1 out of 10 if you've never been here before. For those that have vacationed or lived here it might jump all the way to a 1.5 out of 10. Sometimes it just takes a slight change in our usual patterns here on the island for us to start getting curious and talking, and this was definitely the talk of the morning here at Maho during breakfast!

This morning at about 6:15am my eyes awoke to an unusual sight, while my ears awoke to an unusual sound: waves crashing at Little & Big Maho, and white caps in the middle of the bay. The sound of waves at the beach isn't particularly abnormal, it happens every month or two during the winter, but in all of my years here I can't ever remember a time when I saw waves breaking out beyond Cinnamon Cay. Waves breaking beyond Cinnamon takes the perfect swell as well as the perfect wind and perhaps even the perfect moon (a Hunter's Moon today). The swell is NW, while the wind is SW this morning. Nobody here at Maho (even those here more than a decade!) can ever remember a time when waves were breaking beyond Cinnamon. Needless to say, Johnson's Reef is pretty wild this morning. Looking carefully you can see quite a few white waves beyond the one breaking wave in the foreground of above picture.

Related yet even more obscure and ranking a possible .5 out of 10 on our Maho newsworthy items scale that may interest would-be travelers to Maho, are the breaking waves at Great and Little Tobago next to Jost Van Dyke and a part of our view from the Pavilion Restaurant. While it's interesting to watch the waves breaking at Little Tobago, it's even more interesting to see the wave action in the foreground just before Little Tobago; imagine Johnson's Reef only much smaller and in the middle of the ocean between Little Tobago and Whistling Cay. It's rumored to be called Kings Rock, which is normally a shallow area of water in the middle of the ocean never really seen or talked about. In fact, I don't think most boats would need to concern themselves with it if sailing in the area (this is not a confirmed source!). The point is that this swell action we have this morning is giving us a brief "view" of what lies beneath the surface out near Little Tobago.

Sunday, October 14, 2012


By 6pm last night all of Maho Bay Camps was once again shut down and prepared for Tropical Storm Rafael, which was to move over us in the later afternoon and through the night. Watching the sunset like it did last night was never what we would have expected after the 11am NHC update. We were expecting very heavy rains and 40mph winds by 6pm, and instead get a beautiful evening with barely a breath of wind in the air and no rain.

The 5pm, 8pm and 11pm NHC updates told us a story we very much enjoyed reading about: the storm was headed more North and even North NorthEast, with the center passing about 100 miles to our East instead of directly over us or to our West. Most of the "bad stuff" in the storm was the rain and wind located in the southeastern portion of the storm. Through the night the winds were calm and very little rain developed. This morning we're seeing bits of rain and cloudy skies, but we'll take it compared to what was supposed to be here!


Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Coastal Cleanup

Tuesday morning the 9th of October was International Coastal Cleanup day for Maho Bay Camps. Each year around this time we volunteer to walk the beaches of Big Maho, Little Maho and Francis Bay, picking up every bit of trash we can find. A more beautiful morning could not have been found as we started scouring the beaches at 9am. Not a single soul on Big Maho the entire time! Ah the off-season. 

This year we had 6 of us volunteer for the 3 beaches, collecting a total of 2 large 45 gallon garbage bags worth of trash from all three beaches.....not that bad if the goal is to not find much trash! Last year it seemed like we collected quite a bit more trash, especially from Big Maho, and especially from the road and parking areas just off the beach. This year we were pleasantly surprised by how little trash was left near the parking spots at Big Maho, with the exception of the handful of styrofoam food containers where it looked like people stopped to enjoy dinner and thew the container out the window of where they were parked.

What did we find? Exactly what you would expect: lots of cigarette butts (about 150 total), many many plastic sandwich bags and tinfoil (bringing lunch to the beach), cans, bottles, bottle caps, 1 pair of underwear, and lots of eating utensils. Data cards provided by the Ocean Conservancy were filled out, and ideally our findings will be shared and analyzed. With any luck our findings will result in future education, legislation, or perhaps signage at each beach - here's to thinking big!

Another interesting note were the glass bottles we found, in that only a handful were found on the beaches. The National Park does a great job of advertising and enforcing the no glass bottle rule on beaches, but unfortunately we found about 30 bottles (mostly Heineken) along the driveway to Francis beach. So technically most of the "weight" from our cleanup came from walking the road to Francis, alongside the salt pond. 

Pictured below is the group of us (minus me taking the picture) after finishing the morning at Francis.
 


Monday, October 1, 2012

Good Day Maho and Concordia Fans,

As promised, we do our best to keep you updated.  Many of you are concerned about the future of Maho Bay.  So, here is the story as we currently know it.

A few weeks ago, we were informed by the land owners that they have recently concluded initial discussions with a buyer for the property and they wish to send two people down to perform a site and environmental inspection.  So, two weeks ago, those people arrived.  They walked the entire property, taking pictures and samples, asking questions and taking notes.  By the end of it all, we still have no clue what is going to happen to the campground, who the buyer is or their intentions.  All that we are guaranteed is that there has been no extension for Maho Bay Camps.  Therefore, we continue to make plans for one last great season and then close our tent flaps on May 15, 2013.  This will give us time to vacate by lease end on June 30.

On the bright side of things, both Maho and Concordia have been cleaning, repairing, and replacing anything needed.  Concordia has a new deck with grills overlooking the pool and some needed boardwalk and stair repair.  New paint has also been applied along the boardwalks and in the original studios.  New linens have been ordered for both properties.  Maho has been pressure washing the boardwalks, painting the stairs and cleaning everything.  Both properties are gearing up for one of the busiest season in years due to Maho closing.  We anticipate being almost sold out for the majority of the high season.  So, please book early and visit us at Concordia or stay, one last time, at Maho.  Either way, we hope to see you here!

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

A Gatorade Mystery


Every couple of months or so I see our maintenance crew saving a bunch of Gatorade bottles during the morning "trash run." Typically all plastic we collect gets thrown into the trash, as we still do not have any type of recycling facility here on St. John or St. Thomas (remind you of 20 years ago perhaps?). Every now and then we try to think of ways to reuse plastic, and one of those ideas was to use these bottles as dish detergent containers in each tent.

The problem is that for some reason we continually need new Gatorade bottles to use as soap containers in each tent; it's not as if we've been building new tents everywhere, and plastic lasts forever right? So why do we always need new bottles?!

It finally made sense after reading one of our latest guest surveys on the condition of the tent upon arriving: "very clean, except for the half-empty Gatorade bottle left in the tent." - AH HA!

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Making skirts like the ones pictured below doesn't happen quickly, but once they're made they do tend to sell quickly. This is the time of year when our art department has the time to "catch-up" on production for sales during our season.



Each of the skirts shown above have been custom made and none of them look exactly the same. Why? We use a process called batiking, which is a method of dyeing fabric so that parts of the fabric not intended to be dyed are covered with removable wax. The hand-created design and colors can be completely different for each skirt, and are.

Shown below are a few skirts with wax (and thus part of the design) being applied.

How often do you get to wear a piece of clothing that nobody else in the world owns? They make great gifts for that special someone in your life! hint: almost all women visiting our gallery are drawn to their originality and design, and once they try them they almost always buy one. Interested in trying a class while you're here this winter? Give us a call or send us an email and we can sign you up. 340 776 6226 x248 or ginger@maho.org





Thursday, August 23, 2012

What did you do on Wednesday?

Here at Maho we spent the day boarding up windows, securing tents and bagging everything we own in trash bags and bins.......for a storm named Isaac. All guests left at 10am and it was a race to get everything prepared before nightfall.

A tent is about the last place you'd want to spend the night during a Tropical Storm or worse, with high winds, lots of rain and the potential of a tree falling overhead. For this reason we have to take things quite a bit more serious than your average resident or visitor of St. John.

Did we make the right decision? So far yes, but even if it was a beautiful sunny calm day on Thursday we'd rather be safe than sorry.


Below, our Pavilion Restaurant has seen better evenings. With our office sitting below the seating area and the potential for lots of rain meant putting tarp down on the floor and flipping the tables over the tarp. If you look closely you'll see the wires that anchor the roof are in place (so the roof doesn't take off like a hot air balloon and end up at Little Maho).


At 6pm it looks like there will be at least a handful of boats spending the night on National Park moorings in Big Maho bay.



Saturday, August 18, 2012

High winds and lots of rain lately have caused a bit of trouble for some of our taller "top heavy" trees on property. It's amazing how fast some of the trees around here grow; the tree pictured below probably grew too fast for it's own good this past spring and summer, and is now paying the price this "H-word season."



Those eating the pavilion tonight will have the regular view back!



Monday, August 6, 2012

Love City Triathlon

We're approaching that time of year again - The St. John Land Sharks will be hosting the Annual Love City Triathlon and Aquathon on Sunday, September 2nd 2012. This event is held every year over Labor Day weekend and Maho Bay Camps is one of the major sponsors. We provide a free night stay for all participants! Call or email us at our reservations office with any questions: reservations@maho.org 800 392 9004

For more information and to sign-up please visit: http://www.stjohnlandsharks.com/



Tuesday, July 31, 2012

You're looking at almost 100 starfish...... made yesterday and pulled out of the "oven" this morning.

The benches you see in the picture are typically used by guests to watch us blow glass during the day and night all season long. What do we do with those benches in the off season when we have nobody to watch us blow glass? use them as temporary starfish tables! The starfish in this picture will eventually make their way up to storage, where they'll wait to be purchased this season through our art gallery here at Maho or online.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Staying healthy by living on the coast

There was an interesting article yesterday on Businessinsider.com about how living or even spending time near coastal areas can improve your health. That sounds good to me and every other staff member that calls Maho "home!"

Naturally, they decided to use a picture of St. John, one which we're all very familiar with.

Thinking a little more about our lifestyles here at Maho, the article started to make a lot more sense. After work or on days off we tend to spend our time out on or in the water, snorkeling, diving, kayaking, sailing, surfing, swimming or paddleboarding. When you add a relaxing dinner overlooking the water each night to the equation our lives look very healthy, relaxing, stress-free, and revitalizing indeed.

If living down here isn't an option, don't worry, the article says "just visiting these areas can help people relax and revitalize." - So get that vacation planned!

Saturday, July 7, 2012

One little, two little, three little... kittens!

Those of you that have been to Maho over the past few years have probably noticed that we have a fair amount of resident feral cats. All total we have close to a dozen named cats on camp. One thing they all have in common is that they've been taken to the vet to be spay or neutered. So imagine our surprise when word got to staff members that there were three kittens near a tent in 'A' section.

We were immediately curious, and upon investigation did on fact find three black kittens and their mom who had made underneath A11 and some nearby rocks their home. Since we already have so many cats on camp, and wanted to make sure these guys were healthy, we set about catching the cats. The mom was caught immediately and brought to the ACC. Three days (and several failed attempts) later we had caught the three kittens.

Danielle, a staff member, graciously offered to foster the kittens until they could be turned over to the ACC. In the few days the kittens were at Maho it was apparent that one is fearless and fiesty, one is shy and playful, and one is cautious and reserved. They've since been brought to the ACC who will keep them until they are large enough to be spay or neutered, and hopefully adopted. If they are not adopted they will be released back onto the wild somewhere on St. John.

If you're in the market for a cat, visiting soon, and want a cute cuddly reminder of Maho, you should consider adopting one of the kittens born on camp. If interested the ACC's website is http://www.stjohnanimalcarecenter.com/













Saturday, June 23, 2012

getting close to nature

In 1976 Stanley Selengut started Maho Bay Camps as an inexpensive place to stay, while being as close to nature as possible. Specifically, "My idea was to provide intimacy with the great outdoors, in the US Virgin Islands, one of the world's most beautiful settings, with comfort and convenience, at low cost."

What is so beautiful some 3 decades later is that the same statement applies today; Maho remains one of the cheapest places to stay on St. John, and we're still offering the same tents that get you as close to nature as possible and even provide comfort and convenience.

Will you wake up to birds outside your tents telling you it's time to get up? probably.
Will you wonder how tree frogs can make that much noise as soon as it gets dark? yes.
Will you feel and hear the wind through the screens as you sleep? probably.
Will you have a tiny lizard or anole that considers your tent his home? most definitely.
Will your body adjust to nature during the week you are here and tell you its time to go to bed earlier and wake up earlier? probably.
Will your kids think its fun to toss their uneaten dinner over the porch and watch the hermit crabs come marching towards your tent? yes.
Will you go for more hikes/snorkels/sails/adventures because we don't provide you with WiFi access? probably.

And that's the entire idea of this place we call Maho. You're living and experiencing nature in a way you may not be used to and is entirely different than what it's like at your home. If you arrive with an open mind and ready to experience nature you'll see that the anole has lived in your tent for way longer than you've been here, and while he's never learned to leave his "droppings" outside of the tent, he does do a pretty good job of eating any bugs inside the tent.

Sleeping in tents close to nature here on the North Shore of St. John has forced thousands of guests to experience something new and different while on vacation. Come try it yourself and feel how strange it is to go back to your bed at home.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012


The large bay of water that sits in front of us, Big Maho, Little Maho & Francis, can sometimes be "home" to 1 or 2 mega yachts each night, in addition to the 10 or 20 other small sailboats (comparatively speaking!) spending the night on moorings. This year has certainly been the “year of Archimedes” – with seemingly no more than a week between visits in our bay for this large mega yacht. Whomever is captaining this yacht each week certainly enjoys “our” waters. The most interesting thing about this yacht? It doesn’t even have to drop anchor for the night; it has some sort of computer system and jet thrusters that keep it at precisely the same coordinates overnight. Then again maybe all mega yachts have that feature, how would I know?

The article in the St. John Tradewinds this week about the VINP installing 15 "big boat" moorings this summer for boats 60-100ft won't have any impact on boats the size of Archimedes. Archimedes sits at 219ft, and with all that room aboard you could invite your whole extended family for a vacation! Unfortunately the maximum number of guests allowed is 8, with an additional 10 crew members.

One thing I do know is that it costs far less to stay in one of our tents for the night, in fact if you stay in one of our tents instead of Archimedes you’ll end up saving $56,428/night! The next time you're staying with us and see this boat in the bay you can smile and think of how much money you're saving by staying in our tent cabins. Personally, I think we have a better view than they have anyway.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

handblown awards





Maho Bay was responsible for more than a few different awards over the past couple weeks here in the islands, at UVI as part of the Small Business Development Center and for the Power Swim here on St. John. If you were a swimmer for the Beach to Beach swim over Memorial Day weekend then perhaps the starfish, frog, parrot fish, or sun catchers look very familiar to you.