Meet Captain Rick Maes, Lion in da Sun’s new owner.
Brothers Josh and Matt Slayton have sold their charter boat business to Rick, a charter captain from St. Thomas who’d been looking to start his own business.
Rick, who comes from New Jersey, has been around boats since he was 13, and has a colorful resume to prove it. Rick’s past adventures include commercial fishing in Gloucester, Mass., captaining charter fishing boats in New Jersey, and even running a tug boat in New York Harbor. He helped a friend sail a boat from New Jersey to St. Thomas in 2006 and that eventually led to a charter job.
“One day I was with guests at the Willy T, and I started chatting with Josh about wanting to get a boat and start my own business,” Rick says. “Josh said ‘Buy mine!,” and one thing led to another, and here I am.”
Captain Rick can be reached at the same Lion in da Sun Website as always.
As for Josh and Matt, selling was always part of the business plan.
“Our five year plan was to start with a boat and a Website and build a small company that would have a great reputation so that when we went to sell it we could be proud,” Josh says. “With Rick, we knew we were turning the business over to someone that understood how we got to where we were over the last five years and would build on our good reputation.”
Matt is still on island and is pursuing some new business possibilities. Josh says he’s taking an extended leave of absence from St. John, but will come back in mid-September and start looking for a new opportunity.
“If nothing comes up, I might ask Captain Rick if I can work for him,” Josh says. (Rick, with recent happy customers, below.)
The Beach Bar is open for business again, after being closed last week while workers re-worked its bar a bit.
The old bar’s footprint was slightly redesigned, and a bit of new beach-side railing installed, giving us all a bit more elbow room during standing-room-only afternoons.
That tile around the underside of the bar always brings back memories. How many of you remember when that tile was also the bar top itself? Memories.
We’ve been lucky enough to spend time at some amazing villas over the years, and this one is near the top of the list. Absolutely stunning views, and a very private, East End location, just past Sloop Jones.
This is Coral Point Beach House, and we’ll let the video speak for itself. A very cool place!
At first glance, this looks like the Sloop Jones sign that greets guests at Bongo Bongo.
But it’s not.
From the “some guests do the most flattering things” file, comes Don and Steph Ricci, who live in Santa Rosa, California. And after returning home from a recent visit to St. John, Don made this sign himself, which now hangs in their entryway.
“My wife loves it and every time I walk by it, it makes me smile,” Don says.
This week’s mystery Beach Break came to you from St. John’s East End, on Pond Bay. (Not the Chocolate Hole Pond Bay, the real Pond Bay.)
Major props to yesterday’s commenters “Kevin in Georgia” and “ajr” for knowing the island that well.
It is on the south side of Long Point, with Round Bay to the west. (See arrow.)
There is also a fantastic, open air villa that straddles Long Point, with views in both directions, complete with 150 steps that lead down the cliff to Pond Bay. We’ll show it to you Sunday!
Late summer means the Sweet Tarts of the trees are ready to eat. Look for guys on the road side or in the park selling bunches of them. Just bite in. Eat the inside and spit out the seed.
If you’re adventurous, you can also go hunting for them yourself. The St. John Beach Guide claims a genip tree at Maho Bay has some of the sweetest picks on the island.
If you’ve got a dog, you’ll get a chance to test his or her manners next month.
As part of the American Kennel Club’s “Responsible Dog Ownership Day,” being held at the Marketplace Sept. 25, experts will be on hand to administer the official AKC Canine Good Citizen Test. Yep, there is such a thing and if, during the 10 part test, your dog growls, snaps, bites, attacks…or has an accident, he fails.
This is the second year the Animal Care Center has participated in the AKC’s Responsible Dog program.
There will also be obedience demonstrations (in case your dog fails), breed rescue information and other activities.
Could your dog pass the test? Read the rules, here.
Bar Wars 2010, sponsored as always by the Beach Bar, raised much needed funds for the Animal Care Center Saturday, with teams from St. John bars and restaurants racing through the obstacle courses, and slamming glasses full of adult beverages in record time.
This year’s winner was Intoxication Station, taking the winner’s title from Morgan’s Mango and Rhumb Lines by a nose.
Who is Intoxication Station? A team led by Waterfront Bistro bartender Allen Lancaster, Mike Lord and Mike Lane from Sweets, a West Indian hangout in Johns Folly, and Mike Lane’s brother, Tory.
“The thing that we’re most proud of? That the youngest guy on our team is 32 years old,” Allen tells us. “I’m the grandpa of the group at 41.”
So what was the winning combination for these old guys?
“Tory in the water, and three other guys who can chug like nobody’s business,” says Allen. Gentlemen, we are inspired.
This is frequent St. John visitor David Brunt and his wife Kathy, who love their collection of St. John t-shirts, but get only limited use out of them in New England.
And out of that cold fact was born a start-up business, Tropical U.
“We started putting away our St. John t-shirts for another winter here in Maine last year, and, being slightly obsessed with St. John, this is always quite traumatic,” says David. “I’m a graphic artist and made some sweatshirts for family, but I didn’t realize how many St. John nuts live in this area, so we decided to market them as our little connection to the island.”
David, knowing the ocean is a big place, is casting his net wide, adding a number of islands to his sweatshirt line to make it a viable business, but he says coming up with St. John designs is his main focus.
It’s been a hot summer this year, but if you want to plan ahead for next winter’s cold nights, you can check out David’s sweatshirt line, here!
Learn a couple of new things about Sandy Spit, and neighboring Green Cay, as Captain Brandi takes us to one of the most beautiful destinations in the British Virgin Islands, below!
We only met Miles a couple of times, but this dog was BIG, both in size and in licks and love.
Tourist Trap owners Cheryl and Larry lost their beloved Miles Friday, and so did a lot of other people who loved him.
“Miles had a long, long St. John history and shared my St. John history with me,” says Cheryl. “From the Beach Bar to Woody’s to Tage to Skinny’s, and finally to the Tourist Trap.”
Cheryl posted this sweet video on her Facebook and on travel forums, and she wanted us to post it here as well. RIP Miles.
