Coral Bay

Location

Coral Bay is located on the southeastern side of St John island in the United States Virgin Islands. Considered the “more quiet” region of St John, most visitors miss out on exploring the beauty of Coral Bay and the eastern coast in favour of the most popular Cruz Bay and northern coast beaches. The area boasts beautiful coves and close access to areas that showcase its colonial past, like the Annaberg Sugar Plantation Ruins, as well as beautiful hikes that will reward everyone that makes the trip. This is a large bay with many smaller anchorages and mooring points.

Navigation

Approach from the S side after passing Ram Head. Caution should be taken to steer clear of Eagle Shoal located less than 1M NE of Ram Head while heading north. The shoal extends for more than 500m and has more than 1m over it. Navigate W of Eagle Shoal towards Sabbat Point which is conspicuous due to the white buildings high on the tip. There are three main anchorage points on offer for yacht charters in Coral Bay. These are Coral Harbor, Hurricane Hole and Round Bay. Anchoring is not allowed at Hurricane Hole. There are more anchorage and moorings points available in and around Round Bay to also explore.

Coral Bay Harbor - USVI - St John — credit: Canva Library

General Information

A large and picturesque bay, it once functioned as the commercial centre of the island during the 19th century when it was moved to Cruz Bay. Nowadays, the area is a popular holiday destination with most of the businesses catering to tourism and hospitality services.

Provisioning

This anchorage point has some amenities, shops and restaurants near Coral Harbor. The closest place for yacht charters that need access to fuel and water is the Caneel Bay Shipyard in Cruz Bay on the other side of the island.

Things to Do

Lime Out – Floating Taco in the Caribbean

This is a very popular stop for drinks and refreshments. It first opened back in 2019 in Hansen Bay and has since moved its operations closer to the main town of Coral Bay. Serving delicious tacos and refreshing drinks, Lime Out has become a must-visit stop in the area. In recent years, they have limited access to boats only whether that is your own vessel or as part of a group tour. There are some mooring balls around Lime Out but most are private and cannot be used by yacht charters. Anchoring is only allowed on sand and care should be taken not to disturb the coral and damage the ocean floor.