Ouch. A Nauti Nymph rental boat goes down off White Bay beach Sunday. No one was aboard. No one was hurt. But talk about ruining somebody’s good afternoon buzz…

Surf’s up, dude. It may not be Malibu, but Reef Bay can have some big surf by St. John standards. Hike the trail here, or stay at a house in the area and find a path through the woods. Reef Bay, on a surfin’ day, below!

Good lawyers and bad loans are expensive.

First Bank Monday reported 2006 net income of $84.6 million, down from $114.6 million in earnings in 2005. The bank blames lower earnings on more charge offs for bad loans, higher expenses, including higher salaries for its employees, and legal costs.

First Bank, which is restating four years worth of earnings, agreed earlier this year to settle a shareholder lawsuit over its mortgage-related accounting errors for more than $74 million.  It also agreed this year to a submit to oversight by U.S. banking regulators.

First Bank’s lower earnings aren’t from lack of business. The bank’s loans grew by a billion dollars last year, including $426 million in residential mortgages and $374 million in construction loans.

Pick up a copy of the August issue of Architectural Digest magazine. There is a photo spread and article featuring a new and gorgeous villa above the North Shore.

A German couple, whose primary residence is a painstakingly restored midieval clock tower in Cologne, built the place. (Getting from Cologne to St. John must be a pain, so we’ve all got that over them.)

It’ll cost you as much as $25,000 a week to stay there.  

Best part of the article? The photographer got to live in the villa for a week while he took the pictures. That’s a good gig. 

Have you been hearing the ads on your local radio station? Things like “This traffic report brought to you by the United States Virgin Islands Department of Tourism.” Or seen the ads in your local paper? The Tourism Department, along with the Hotel and Tourism Association, launched a $1.25 million advertising campaign two months ago, and they’re touting some pretty impressive numbers as a result so far. The 90^th Anniversary Celebration (marking the transfer from Danish rule to a US territory in 1917) includes packages from a dozen hotels on St. Thomas, a half dozen on St. Croix and the Westin on St. John that includes things like a free night and free activities.

In the two months since taking to the airwaves and print, tourism officials say bookings at participating hotels are up 24 percent, room nights are up 17 percent, and collective revenue is up 26 percent. “We are thrilled at the early success…,” says tourism boss Beverly Nicholson Doty. “It is quickly making a direct and positive impact on the local economy.” The package deals run through August 31.

Scratch another bachelor off the list on St. John. Woody’s co-owner Todd picked 07-07-07 to get hitched in what has become known as “The Royal Wedding.” Hundreds of people, including 150 who flew down from the states, for the wedding.

Speaking of 07-07-07, St. John is getting just as much bang out of the coveted wedding date as anywhere. Stacy Mulcare, who runs Ceremonies of St. John, says there were at least 15 weddings scheduled on the island for Saturday, twice the normal number on a June or July weekend.

It’s a hectic weekend for wedding planners, including Stacy, who says this date makes her feel a whole lot better than last year’s most popular date, June 6. “I thought it was a red flag when husbands were asking brides to marry them on 666,” she says. (She also thinks next year’s big date will be Aug. 8….08-08-08.)

Camera crews from The Style Network are also on island, following around at least one couple. Stacy was interviewed as part of the show, called “Married Away”, which will air it’s St. John episode in October.

And…back to The Royal Wedding. Stacy’s husband, Seamus (Shay), made the cake for Todd and his bride Christy. Five tiers, five different flavors. Check out Shay’s cake-abilities here.

Low season is low season for two reasons: Nobody in the Northeast is freezing…and the H word. H season runs from June through November. We entered the H season with predictions of more activity than usual this year. But now Tropical Storm Risk, the London-based forecasters, have cut their forecast for  hurricanes (AACK!) H’s this year. “July through September trade winds over the Caribbean and North Atlantic [and] sea surface temperatures may provide a weak increase in the heat and moisture for hurricanes,” TSR said Thursday. Um, okay.

So, are you ready for the NEW forecast?  They have lowered their predictions from 9 hurricanes…to 8! Out on the limb there, guys.

H season peaks in September. September, and October, are also great months to be on St. John. Water: Warm. Island: Quiet. St. John: Tiny little dot in the middle of the ocean.

This is just our opinion, but there’s a good time to go to Hawksnest and a bad time. Bad time: Afternoon. Good time: Morning. Best time: Early morning. In the afternoon, Hawksnest gets crowded and the beach seems smaller. In the morning, the beach is glorious. Hawksnest Beach, below.

Independence Day. 4th of July. Carnival. Festival. However you’re celebrating, ENJOY!  (Holiday programming schedule: This week’s Beach Break airs tomorrow. Get off your computer and go do something fun!)

Interesting fact of the week: The number of homes listed for sale on St. John currently outnumbers the number of homes listed for sale on St. Thomas. There are currently 127 homes listed on the MLS on St. John, vs 114 on the Big Island, and 290 pieces of beautiful St. John land waiting to suck down your soul, compared to 188 on St. Thomas. What’s it mean? It means if you’ve got a dream and kahoonas, you should be making some crazy offers!

That Realtor you toured around with a trip or two ago? Call ‘em again. Trust me…they’re not that busy.

If you need an excuse to visit the East End, here it is.  A visit to the Sloop Jones studio is worth the trip. In today’s On-StJohn.com road trip, meet artist Terry McKoy and get a look at his studio, below!

Technically, “newer” satellite images. For the first time, we were able so spot Bongo Bongo under construction. Judging by the black tar paper on the roofs, the image is sometime between January 06 and March 06. Google’s satellite images still show an undeveloped hill here. This is from Microsoft’s mapping service (which we actually like better.)

Check out the island and see if something you’ve been looking for has finally shown up. Microsoft Live Search here.

VIDEO ALERT: Take a trip to the East End and meet Sloop Jones’ Terry McKoy, tomorrow! On-StJohn TV.