Cruz Bay Marina in the future??

Just read about this on the 'net and cannot imagine it, esp. for the laid-back vibe and the marine (fish/bird) impact; story said that residents and Army Corp of Engineers have raised 113 concerns which the co. must address on this large scale project. Certainly will change much of what we love about Coral Bay. Hopefully it falls in the never-happen category. I realize that mine may be a selfish concern but I am always suspicious of how much these projects will destroy, how successful they will be in the long run and how they will truly benefit the local population. JMHO

A lot of people had your reaction. The first attempt is dead. The second group has the Moravian Church leadership onboard along with their land between the Mangroves and the old Guy Benjamin School.

Something needs to happen. The existing dinghy dock is unpermitted. A lot of the moorings in Coral Harbor are illegal. There is no pumpout, fuel or water available. Good news, Sea Tow has been working under a grant, along with a hefty in-kind donations by them, to remove some of the sunken derelict boats.

More at http://savecoralbay.com/

Cheers, Rick

I have a picture of that stone Coral Bay dock from 1916 - not sure it is unpermitted for 100+ years.

The "new" proposal is no better; is there a need for all that development? That monstrosity in Cruz Bay should be an example of what such short-sighted planning does to the landscape of a small community. So far, I have not heard really positive impacts to be achieved. What programs for the community will be provided/funded? How many jobs after the initial construction will be higher than minimum wage?etc. etc.

By the way, the "new" area of development is going to be Cuba so maybe they should reconsider. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/cloud.gif" alt="" />

LocalSailor, the floating dinghy dock that is attached to the concrete pier is the unpermitted bit. The last time we stopped in January that floating dock was three deep with dinghies. I was happy to have a long locking cable and painter. Sweet Christine was not happy with dinghy hopping to the dock. If that dinghy dock were to be removed it would be a real challenge.

Cheers, RickG

My thought is that the area needs some development and help. All the decaying boats raw sewage and shore lines that go uncared for are no good for the environment. Why is the question always answered with extreme no or extreme yes. We should learn to find balanced solutions. Without the ability to compromise we would never have developed as a nation. Good development provides for our futures

There's been a good bit of work done on clean up of Coral Bay Harbor. There's a grant from NOAA to Coral Bay Community Council and SeaTow has completed a good bit of work.

http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/eedition/page-a/page_a1ea7057-f43d-50dd-9012-3fcf33c36903.html

Here's a 2014 news story about the project.

http://www.stjohntradewindsnews.com/cbcc...ral-bay-harbor/

There's still a lot of work to do. There are derelict boats on moorings and anchored as well.

Cheers, RickG

Anyone have any recent knowledge of whether it's been cleaned up enough yet to find a decent spot to anchor?

We find Coral Bay kind of yucky. There are so many beautiful anchorages in St.John.

Evan, we did too, that's why I was wondering if there really has been any appreciable improvement. Certainly not as beautiful as so many of the others regardless, though!

We've stopped there to go to skinny legs and have had no issues anchoring to port as you approach the channel.

We have no problem finding a place to anchor in Coral Bay Harbor. Skinny Legs and Iguana Grill are right by the dinghy dock. Aqua Bistro is on the west side of Coral Harbor with no dinghy dock; your options are a 20 minute walk or tying to a dinghy line for a moist walk to dinner or groceries. Island Blues is being turned into Woody’s Waterfront Saloon by the folks who own Woody's Seafood Saloon in Cruz Bay; its closer to the dinghy dock and may be dingy-able once it is open. There are some spots adjacent where fishermen tie up.

Coral Bay Harbor is still a mangrove area, so the water is a bit murky. We prefer to spend the night at nearby Hansen Bay. There is an anchorage in nearby Johnson Bay. Free day use moorings and a great place to gunkhole in the inner Hurricane Hole bays with very good mangrove snorkeling in Princess Bay.

Cheers, RickG

and close to Miss Lucy's!