USVI-On-Line

We are newbies to STJ and medium experienced snorkelers. Would you recommend renting a kayak/dinghy to get to Waterlemon or is it easily swimmable?

I recommend swimming! It looks farther than it really is. We have walked way around to the closest land to get to the cay but it is rocky w/ sea urchins altho the closest way to get there. The last time we swam from the sandy beach in the center and swimming thru that area is where the starfish usually are, so not to be missed. If you are tired once arriving to the cay, you can hang out there for a while before the return swim. I also love the swim around the cay, worth every bit of energy it may require.

The snorkeling right off the beach at Waterlemon is actually pretty spectacular without having to do that swim to the Cay.

My only caution is that you accurately assess your swimming skills and make sure you have good fins.

ScubaGirl and her hubby had to rescue some idiot last December who decided to swim to the Cay in their Tevas (instead of fins) and clearly was not a good swimmer. If ScubaGirl and hubby hadn't seen them form their boat and jumped in to help the person would have drown.

We did the snorkel around the Cay from a boat in July, and I was surprised at how strong the current was at the tip. Definitely use flippers. It's not hard if you're a confident swimmer. And, as others have cautioned, watch for sea urchins. I almost was swept into a cluster of them because I was snorkeling in water too shallow. Won't make that mistake again. It is a very good snorkel.

Did it with our 11 year old 2 months ago today.

She had no trouble swimming from the beach. That was my favorite beach. If you have a smaller jeep you can drive down to old bridge parking for 4-5 cars.

We just did it with two 13-year-olds last week. We hiked to a spot as close to the cay as we could get (you pass the beach and keep going on the trail, then bear left near the water), because there were a ton of jellies in the bay near the beach that day and we wanted to avoid them. We swam counter-clockwise around the cay, and while the current was fairly strong, we had no trouble. Definitely use fins. You do need to be really careful about staying away from the sea urchins when you enter the water, but we found a good spot and had no problems at all. This was one of our top-two snorkels (the other was Little Lameshur)--well worth the effort!

Waterlemon is one of our very favorite snorkels. We like to start from the beach since we saw turtles and starfish. On the way back, we hugged the right-hand side (as you are standing on the beach looking out to the Cay) and saw lots of peacock flounder and other little creatures in the shallower water.

We are strong swimmers and didn't have any trouble, but the other posters advice is well heeded. It can be a long swim if you are not used to it. The two times we did it, the current was very strong on the far side of the Cay. We hung out there (on the far side) for a while because the reef is so beautiful and some very big fish, but didn't go all the way around. It depends upon conditions and your abilities if you want to go all the way around. Even if you don't go around there is lots to see on the left side of the Cay. Saw an octopus in open water right near the beach on the Cay last year. It was "hiding" underneath a huge urchin, but was easy to see.

Its nice to have the little beach to rest on or (in my case) to get out and sit in the sun to warm up before the swim back. OK, I better stop typing now. I love that place.

Easily swimmable, given you are a good swimmer. We walked out past the beach to the closest point then went in from there...it's a little tricky walking on the rocks. One challenge is finding a place to rest when you need a rest...there is a little sandy beach on the Cay which is really the only place I found to rest. Wear a snorkel vest if you aren't a good swimmer.

Another idea...I thought Cinnamon Cay was nearly as good of a snorkel as Waterlemon...not quite as good, but definately easier to swim to ...and get to.

Cheers

Thanks for all your replies. Sounds like we'll try the swim.

This topic is close to my heart because we had some serous issues when trying this "swim" several years ago

I am a very strong swimmer - but hubby is not - and we got into some serious trouble - ended up having to save his behind and got severely cut up and picked by sea urchins in the whole process

If the current is strong you have to be a really good swimmer - so be careful and make sure you have some flotation options - and try to make sure people are around in case you run into trouble

I hate to sound like a downer - but this event had a major impact on my life - and I would like to spare anyone else having these kinds of issues

We were unaware of the dangers before we did this - and had not experienced currents like this - and did not know how to get out of the current - so be prepared and cautious - and then have fun!!!!

Redhead, Thanks for your words of caution. We will be very careful about assessing the situation before we attempt anything.

Redhead- thanks for weighing in on this. I'm super confident and strong swimmer myself and since the waters arouns STJ are relatively calm they can lure you in easily thinking that "it doesn't look that far."

My parents had some friends who were married and went through an experience with a nurse shark. The wife was on the float and the husband was in the water. When he saw it, he freaked out, pushed her off the float and climbed on, leaving her to fend for herself. Needless to say they divorced a year later.

We had a bad experience with some friends a few years back. We rented dinghy's from Crabby (back when you could) and headed out to Princess Cove/Bay which is mangrove territory-- lots of baby everything here and an interesting snorkel.

You can see land, but because of the mangroves you can't really get to it. Unbeknownst to us the couple was not as comfortable in water as we were led to believe. In fact it turned out that the husband couldn't really swim! He was dog paddling-- LITERALLY DOG PADDLING in the water. It never occured to me that someone would be dishonest about their abilities in order to go along with the group.

They snorkeled along and finally stopped on the opposite side of the bay. He couldn't swim back to where the dinghy's were anchored. So we had to swim to the boats (we had 2) and had to take the boats TO THEM and help them in. Good thing we were strong swimmers!

They complained about how awful and dangerous the whole day was the rest of the trip and tried to talk Flip Flop and her hubby from doing it becasue they said it was "so scary."

Yeah, it was scary cause they didn't know what the hell they were doing!

I learned a HUGE lesson that day: NEVER assume that someone knows how to swim or can handle themselves well in open water.

For the last few trips I've been considering trying out a flotation belt. We've been snorkeling comfortably in the tropics for years, but as I get older, I certainly do have less endurance. There was a time when going around Waterlemon was a breeze for me, but it's become more of a challenge, particularly if the current is strong.

Rather than limiting what I do, or being less comfortable doing it, I'm thinking about trying a belt. I haven't actually followed through on the idea yet but maybe next trip.

Last trip was the first time I felt uncomfortable at Waterlemon. I have NEVER had issues swimming there before, but this time there was an intense current running beside the cay on the right side as you approach, pulling out towards the open water. Swimming at full strength with fins, we were able to stay in the same spot, but that's it. It was really frustrating. We ended up changing direction and going through the current. Once we got to the cay itself, it was fine all the way around--it was just in that one spot. At the end of the snorkel, we had to push through the current again to get back to shore. It was tiring and I did not enjoy the snorkel as much as usual because the whole time around the cay I was thinking about going back through that current. In fact, we did not repeat the snorkel, and we usually hit Waterlemon at least twice, sometimes three times.

What I did was take my 12 year old (whole family) on a long swim to the left side of Truck Bay so she could understand if she could make a longer swim. The day we went to Waterlemon she had planned not to swim on open water side. Current (waves) were stronger that day so my son and I turned back from going around open water side. My wife and two girls stayed on bay side waiting for us. Taking a break on small sandy beach.