Current Rock of Residence:
St. John, USVI
Island Girl Since:
2015
Originally Hails From:
New Jersey
Sandra, or “Sandra Louise” as her boat is called, is a Shaman, a tennis teaching pro, a mom, and a sailor. She raised her daughter in suburban New Jersey and had a very fun business teaching tennis.
Sandra has bee cruising the east coast with her Captain partner for the past several years. They started cruising the east coast in a J24 then upgraded to a Pearson 39′, which was then lost in Hurricane Sandy in the safe harbor of Perth Amboy, NJ. After Hurricane Sandy, which has left its mark on the NJ coast, Sandra and the Captain bought a Catalina 42′ and have been cruising ever since.
After going back and forth from Florida to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, one fine day they continued sailing south, past the Bahamas, through Turks and Caicos, past Haiti and the Dominican Republic, along the coast of Puerto Rico, past the Spanish Virgin Islands and St. Thomas, finally stopping at St. John, VI. To their utter amazement, they have been moored, anchored, and sailing around St. John for the past 15 months with no plans to leave anytime soon.
Sandra can be found leading kayaking and snorkel tours or working at a local shop in Coral Bay and playing lots of tennis on every court on St. John. She also leads Shaman gatherings with crystals and guided meditations.
Explore posts by this writer:
Experiencing Culture Shock When Traveling Off Your Island
There is a certain excitement one gets when going on a road trip that you don't get when flying. Yes, you dread sitting in the car all day, but you can listen to music all day and eat snacks that you don’t normally eat and your journey often has several destinations....
Sunkissed Christmas
This year I’ll be celebrating my 11th Christmas on this beautiful island and my main goal for this holiday season is to make the perfect sand-snowman. I can assure you that this is a task far more difficult than Pinterest or Instagram would have you believe. Last...
Christmas on Saba
It’s quiet out. And dark. The colourful street lights are up in each of the four villages of Saba, Chris Rea’s Driving Home for Christmas is playing, the tree is up, half hiding the presents underneath and the house smells of home-made cooking. It’s Christmas time...
My Love Letter to The Sea – How we are harming it and how we can protect it
I like the sea. That might be an under-statement: I really really love the sea. I love to see the different shades of blue, azure, turquoise and green. I love to take a stroll along the shoreline, barefoot, feeling the waves lapping over my toes, with various grades...
In Praise of Real Food
Island food culture is a wonderful riot, to be savoured and enjoyed. When we first came on island I was surprised by the food fusion between American, British and Caribbean fare. You would easily find an overblown pot of peanut butter alongside a similar-sized jar of...
How To Be An Annoying Tourist
The cruise ship horns are blasting. The streets are bustling with wide-eyed people donned in Hawaiian print. The smell of aerosol sunscreen spray fills the hot tropical air and stings your eyes. This can only mean one thing...peak tourist season is upon us. The...
