I have been on island about five years now.  There are lots of different water related things to do such as snorkeling, SCUBA diving, night versions of both, jet skis, parasailing, boating…

One thing I hadn’t done before is go fishing.  We have different fishing tournaments here every year.  The US Virgin Islands is actually known for its great sport fishing off of the North Drop and the South Drop.  Some 21 world records in fishing have been set in recent years in the Virgin Islands. 

the fighting chair

The North Drop is part of the Puerto Rican Trench.  A 6 mile trench  a that runs east to west on the north side of St Thomas.  The ocean runs from where it touches the beaches and cliffs gradually out to a depth of about 300 feet -this happens over approximately 20 miles.  About 20 miles north/north east of St Thomas the bottom suddenly drops to a depth of about 28,000 feet.  (5.2 miles or 8,400 meters).  This is where the big fish hang out.  Some of the best Blue and White Marlin fishing is done here every year.

we caught one

The South Drop only goes to a depth of about 12,000 feet.  Shallow compared to the North Drop, but still deep enough to catch Yellowfin Tuna, Blackfin Tuna, Mahi Mahi, and Wahoo.

about 300lbs

Several boats can be rented  for 1/2 day or full day charters.  For our excursion we went out on a 65 foot fishing vessel with a galley and 2 heads (the lap of luxury) called Prime Time.  The captain and crew were wonderful.

Each island in the Caribbean has it’s own feel, it’s own flavor, it’s own style!  St Thomas has the cruise ships, St Croix has some great golfing, St John has hiking and camping.  They all have shopping and great SCUBA diving!  But when you want to get a stamp in your passport, the easiest way to do that is to enjoy a day on Jost Van Dyke.

White Bay

Jost Van Dyke (pronounced yost) is one of the smallest of the British Virgin Islands.  Jost’s population is about 220 people.  However, it has some of the most popular bars on it.  Foxy’s, One Love, and of course Soggy Dollar.  Soggy Dollar even has a web cam http://soggydollarbar.com/ 

Renting a boat for the day is how you get there.  There are several different boating options from a ‘bare boat’ to a three cabin yacht.

However you get there, it’s always a great day!

St John Carnival time is here!  Fourth of July weekend every year is cause for double celebration here in the US Virgin Islands.

Each island has its own Carnival to celebrate celebrating!  Jouvert (pronounced joo-vay) means first night.  Jouvert kicks off Carnival weekend with a parade commencing at 4am.   Colorful costumes, local music and food means everyone has a good time.

I was reading the Virgin Island Daily News today and something struck me.  There were side by side articles about the $50 Billion Ponzi Scheme and the $700 Billion bailout.  I noticed similarities within the words written for the different articles.

If you look at the bailout article it says that the lending institutions were lending money they didnt really have to people who eventually would not be able to pay and the lenders were betting on housing prices to keep going up, thus funding the previous loans.

What is the definition of a Ponzi Scheme?  As defined by a Google search  “A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to investors out of the money paid by subsequent investors rather than from profit.”

Apparently the United States taxpayers are paying out on the biggest Ponzi Scheme ever.