USVI-On-Line

The Good News - our 30 day countdown has begun!! We are bringing two newbies along and can't wait to show them around.

The "I'm Not So Sure" News - have those stinging wee critters abandoned the North Shores beaches yet? If not, are all the North Shore beaches still impacted or are they concentrated out towards Maho & Francis?

One of our newbies is a good snorkeler and we were looking forward to a few Waterlemon visits. Good idea or not?

Thanks for any info!!

MN_Bhoy: I have no recent update on the stinging plankton issue, but to your second question:

"One of our newbies is a good snorkeler and we were looking forward to a few Waterlemon visits. Good idea or not?"

I would say that this is usually a safe and enjoyable snorkel, but there are times when, due to the tidal currents through The Narrows, and the phase of the moon, it can be very challenging. At the wrong day and time, the currents can change from none to severe in a few hours, as the delay between slack tide and maximum flow is three hours. Here are a couple of TripAdvisor posts that make this clear:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g1 ... l#59345778

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g1 ... l#40343930

My advice would be to ask folks returning from their snorkel as you head out to the point, and make other plans in the rare case where they report strong currents. If recent returnees had smooth sailing, you will too. If you don't encounter anyone, try briefly swimming back to shore on your way out, to judge the strength of the current for your return.

All the best,

Kevin

Kevin,

Thanks very much for the Waterlemon advice. We will certainly keep your comments in mind!!

Russ (MN_Bhoy)

We spent last Friday morning on Trunk and Hawksnest, and had no problem at all with stinging plankton/jellyfish. Later in the day, we went to Francis Bay and there were non-stinging little jellies everywhere! One of our group said it was like swimming in tapioca! No one got stuck but it was unnerving to some.

Saturday we snorkeled Haulover South and it was wonderful! Also great at Hansen Bay.

I was in St. John last week. The only place they were really bad was Maho. My wife and I were each stung about 10 - 15 times each while snorkeling about an hour. We each had red welts that lasted a couple hours and then gradually disappeared. The best way I can describe how it feels is like you’re sitting around a camp fire and a small ember lands on you.

Tripadvisor has a very long thread on the subject. Last report was yes on Maho, no on Trunk and Honeymoon. It changes and its tapering off, just slower than previous years. We're going to be down for two weeks the second half of July on the boat. I ordered SafeSea just in case. I don't expect to use it.

Cheers, RickG

I was with a party of 6 on island from June 20-27 and there were no issues. I think one of my friends may have felt a few somethings but it didn't bother him and we never got out of the water. We went to Hawksnest, Maho, Trunk, Salt, Cinnamon, and Honeymoon. Enjoy!

Thanks very much for the feedback. Sounds like things are getting a bit better - knock wood!

I'll probably order some SafeSea just in case...

Roll on August 2nd!!

Still reports of stinging on Francis and Maho in the past couple days. Not as bad as several weeks ago when we encountered four different organisms at Francis. The ones that feel like tapioca don't sting. They are rather interesting. The ones with the long tentacles do sting. Different people will react differently to the same type of sting. My husband and I reacted with a "poison ivy" like blistery rash for a couple of days. My daughter had no reaction that day but a couple days ago got stung hard enough to leave a red welt while swimming off Hawks Nest.

We saw a small jellie at Lameshur yesterday. They are not only on the north shore.

I don't know anything about this SafeSea that people are using. But I avoid using anything in the ocean that isn't reef safe. If you are concerned about the stingers, wear a rash guard.

Thanks for the info iheartsj!!

Good point on using only reef safe products.

I went out to the SafeSea website to see if they had any promotional materials related to product safety. Here is what they advertise in their FAQ section:

"While the bottle is made of plastic and NOT biodegradable, the Safe Sea® lotion IS biodegradable and non-toxic for the marine environment (including fish and coral). Safe Sea does not actually harm the jellyfish you may encounter...it merely keeps them from stinging you."

I bought two bottles of the SPF40 spray as the lotions are mostly sold-out as is the After-Sting Relief Jel. Looks like they need to step up production!

http://www.buysafesea.com/safesea_lotion_faq.php

I was on St John for 2 and a half weeks in June. All of our 5 member party got stung multiple times about every day at every beach we were at (Maho, Frances, Oppenheimer, Jumbie, Trunk, etc.). But it wasn't bad enough to slather on more lotions, though. Nobody had any lasting troubles - maybe a little redness for a day. I wouldn't work yourself up about it, honestly. It didn't stop us from snorkeling.

MH bhoy, thanks for the update about it being reef safe. Sorry to hear you had to buy the SafeSea in the spray version. Spray on sunscreen and now SafeSea is one of my pet peeves. Just yesterday I watched a lady on Lameshur with two cans of spray - one in each hand She was spraying away with most of the spray blowing past her body. I think the lady sitting near her inhaled most of the spray. There is nothing worse than sitting on the beach and inhaling these sprays.

If you must use a spray, spray it into your hand and rub it on.

Also, lots of boat captains do not allow these sprays on their boats. It makes the deck slippery and damages upholstery.