Greetings!
For those of you who have never met me, my name is Wess, my call is K2AHU, and I live on the island of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. I was Fred’s backup while he was our long term SM, so when he made his relocation of QTH, I took over for the remainder of the term and here we are!
The U.S. Virgin Islands consist of three islands: St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix.
St. Thomas (population ~45,000) is the island most familiar to everyone since it has a deep water port adjacent to the main town of Charlotte Amalie, and hosts over 1,500,000 cruise ship passengers per year. It is famous for its duty-free shopping and its multitude of tourist-related activities.
St. John, (population ~3,500) just north and east of St. Thomas, and almost as big as St. Thomas, is accessible only by ferry or private boat. A full 2/3 of St. John is a national park, so there is nowhere near the development that you see on St. Thomas. There are a few beautiful hotels, but it’s just a more quiet and private place.
St. Croix (population ~35,000) is the largest of the three islands and about 35 miles south of St. Thomas. It is home to two rum distilleries, Cruzan Rum & Captain Morgan, plus another is developing. We even have one end of the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA), as a part of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO). These ten radio antennas work together as an array that forms the longest system in the world that uses very long baseline interferometry. There are also a number of nice hotels and resorts on St. Croix, but it is not as “touristy” as St. Thomas. St. Croix is also home to the only casino in the U.S. Virgin Islands (Divi Carina Bay).
If you are visiting us for the first time or a veteran of many trips, make sure you pack your reef-safe sunscreen! The tropical sun is blistering hot and the UV rays are much hotter than in the states!
Enjoy your stay!
Wess
K2AHU
:o)