St John Uncovered
St. John: UNCOVERED
St. John is not only a beautiful island but also one with an incredibly rich, diverse, and often unknown history. Her past is full of compelling events, with countless lives and life ways which are now but echoes, leaving so many stories begging to be told. We have been passionate about St. John history for years upon years, voraciously learning all we can and are so excited to now blend our love for history with our love of the sea. Join us for something different, something fun, something interesting, something deeper… St. John: UNCOVERED.
What does the Uncovered tour “cover” so to speak?
Throughout the course of the day, we will circumnavigate St. John on our 26 foot Glacier Bay Power Cat and venture through history as old as the Pre-Columbian Natives (1000 BC) to more modern history. We will show you the sites of major events like the St. John Slave Revolt of 1733 to little known interesting facts about the island. From accounts of power struggles, an incredible slave rebellion, corruption, colonization, hurricanes, droughts, pirates, Tainos, shipwrecks, privateers, Emancipation, occupations, St. John’s position in comparison to the other islands, a varied economy, and so much more, there is an abundance of history on our small island…
Will we still snorkel?
Of course! That is the great part about this charter. You don’t sacrifice any of the great parts of a charter with FlyAway, like snorkeling beautiful vibrant reefs and stopping for lunch. We just add in all the incredible history as well. Because, really, why shouldn’t you be able to have it all for your day on the water?!
Where is the information from?
Colin and I have done and continue to do massive amounts of research to make sure that what we are telling you is accurate information. Examples of some of our sources include published graduate work, archeologist consults, Danish archives and other online archives, local archives, local libraries, ships’ records, naval archives, Moravian archives, verified internet sources (for example: St. John Historical Society, VINP, Vintage Virgin Islands, and many more), public domain information, countless books, out of print books we have had to hunt down, personal interviews, personal records shown to us, and so much more. Some of our information is information which will never be published but it is authentic information we are authorized to share. We have no interest in perpetuating folklore or misinformation, as the accurate information is incredible on its own.
Ongoing work:
Colin and I are so excited to share ongoing efforts we have been working on since 2015 on a very important shipwreck in Coral Bay. Read about it on St. John Source, The VI Daily News and News Of St. John. We have been thrilled to work with Ken Wild of the VINP, National Geographic, SEARCH, National Association of Black Scuba Divers and Divers With a Purpose.
A little background…
Captain Colin has always been in love with history, it is just his way. Colin lived on an all wooden 80-year-old gaff-rigged ketch, which he restored, since 2005. I (Leah, Colin’s wife) have always had the same historical passion, and when I met Colin, our shared love of the sea and history bonded us instantly. From the beginning of our relationship, we have always read anything we could about St. John history. Fast forward from many years ago to now, and our hobby turned into a passion and we want to bring this to others.
We did lose the beautiful gaff-rigged ketch, our home, to Hurricane Irma, but we have taken on the restoration of another. One that so many know and love dearly, as do we, S/V Breath. Built on the East End of St. John, Breath was handcrafted, sailed and chartered by Dorothy and Peter Muilenberg for years. The owners who bought Breath from Peter and Dorothy wanted the best for the boat and knew we’d lost Buxom. They also knew how much Breath and the Muilenbergs meant to Colin, as he had captained her for around a decade before FlyAway.
We are so thankful to be given Breath after losing our boat to Irma and are excited to bring a traditional boat back to Coral Bay. Although its a long process, most are that are deserving of effort!
See this page for rate: St. John Uncovered