ST. JOHN ? Get ready for a day of paddleboard fun at Maho Bay!

The third annual Paddle the Park standup paddleboard race will be on Sunday, November 1, at Maho Bay on St. John.  Participants can register before Oct. 23 and save on entry fees.

The event is organized by Friends of VI National Park to celebrate the beaches and waters of the park and raise funds for projects that preserve, protect and educate therein.     

The races will start and finish at the Maho Bay Pavilion and will consist of three concurrent courses: ? SHORT course from Maho Bay Pavilion to the floating fee station and back (about 1 mile)? Special Kids Course within the Short Course for ages 12 years and younger;? OPEN course from Maho Bay Pavilion to Whistling Cay and back (about 3 miles); ? ELITE course from Maho Bay Pavilion, around Whistling Cay, then around Cinnamon and back around Whistling Cay and back to Maho (about 5.5 miles).

The race will start at 9 a.m. and finish between 11 a.m. and noon, followed by a casual-good-time beach party and awards ceremony at the Maho Bay Pavilion.

Full information can be found at on the Friends website:  www.friendsvinp.org/paddle. Be sure to check out the narrated video maps of the race courses!

There?s a new bumper sticker in the controversy over proposals for marina development in Coral Harbor that is showing up in all the appropriate places ? most notably island roadside dumpsters.

Whereas early opposition to the proposal for a mega-yacht marina in the sleepy burg of Coral Bay included spray-painted personalized death threats against the developers on dumpsters from one end of the island to the other, the latest round of eco-vandalism of public property makes a pointed reference to another unpleasant aspect of the debate with a simple suggestion to community organizers.

CRUZ BAY­ ? ?Mosaic Sunset? in the Cruz Views complex is the epitome of St. John vacation properties with its convenient location above the activities of Cruz Bay with panoramic ocean views.

?The island charm of ?Mosaic Sunset?, a one-bedroom and loft condo overlooking the pool to the Caribbean beyond, gives guest a perfect location to enjoy their island vacation,? said agent Sandra Mohler of Holiday Homes of St. John.

?Mosaic Sunset is within walking distance to town, but well above the chaos below, makes this a perfect retreat for the relaxing vacation our visitors are seeking,? Mholer elaborated. ?With a shady lanai overlooking the pool, guests have a comfortable place to read a book or plan activities for their vacation.?

?This is the most requested condo in the Cruz Views complex because of its ideal location above the pool,? Mohler explained of the properties income-producing potential. ?It?s a highly desirable property.?

?The reasonable HOA fees make this popular rental a very affordable second home for someone seeking an escape from winter, or the frantic pace of life in the city,? Holiday Homes agent Mohler elaborated.

CRUZ BAY ? St. John residents and visitors will soon hear the new cry of the St. John Cancer Fund ? ?Save the Coconuts? ? heralding the first of two fundraisers set for October with a block party to commemorate Breast Cancer Awareness Month Cancer fund chairwoman, Mary Bartolucci announced the fund raising event schedule for 2015-2016. Two events ? one in October and one in February ? lead up to the annual Light Up the Night walkathon.

The first event is a block party hosted by Woody?s Seafood Saloon and the Across the Street Bar set for Oct. 17. Efforts leading up to the day began about two weeks ago, organizer Megan Ramsey said.

And to ensure the fundraiser?s success, Ramsey said she?s recruiting her entire family, including her children, who set up a promotional lemonade stand outside the business over the weekend.

?They?re great,? she said. ?They go up to people and get them to buy lemonade.? Which gives watchful parents a chance to remind customers to turn out for the block party.

Promotors Line-up SupportersMeanwhile, promoters have visited local businesses, restaurants and resorts to procure raffle prizes. Musical entertainers DJ Adonis and John Gavi were also invited to liven up the atmosphere.

They?ve also engaged the V.I. Police Department to get permits to close off the street for the event.

Adding an extra element of fun, there is also a new slogan.

?This is the sixth year. We?re changing the theme this year from ?Save Second Base? to ?Save the Coconuts,? because it?s more local,? Ramsey said of the event?s new theme.

?He?s Not Breathing!??He?s Breathing!!??There?s Blood Coming Out of His Nose and Mouth!?

Jennifer and Scott Tame

CRUZ BAY ? Most first-time visitors send selfies and texts to their friends about the beauty of Maho Bay in the Virgin Islands National Park.

Jennifer and Scott Tame of Portland, Maine, didn?t send photos to their island hosts Corey and Leah Dence from their morning snorkeling excursion to Maho on Tuesday, Sept. 22, but when their adventure took a different albeit dramatic tone their texts to the Dence?s spoke volumes.

10:55 a.m. ? ?Holy shit dude, Scott and I just pulled a drowning man out of the water,? Jennifer said in her text to Leah Dence from the scene.

?Oh my god is he ok?  You ok? He need help?? Leah responded by text. ?Anxious to hear about it. Tell me if you guys need any assistance and we?ll get someone there.?

?Dude, I?m crying, ambulance on the way, he?s breathing terribly, blood coming out of his mouth and nose,? Jennifer texted back. ?He wasn?t breathing at all when we pulled him out.?

?Ok. Deep breaths,? Leah texted therapeutically. ?He?s going to be okay.  It?s going to be ok.?

?Yeah, just super overwhelming,? Jennifer acknowledged to end the text exchange.

Celebrating First Anniversary?We were just out of the water from snorkeling at Maho Bay,? Jennifer later told St. John Tradewinds. The couple was on island visiting friends Corey and Leah to celebrate their first wedding anniversary.

Just coming out of snorkeling on the section of the narrow beach across North Shore Road from the expanding VINP gravel parking lot, the couple heard a woman calling for help and saw an older woman dragging the lifeless body of a large man through the shallow water towards the beach.

ENIGHED ? After abandoning efforts to rein in St. John taxi associations, rental villa operators and residents and expand its beachhead on the Cruz Bay waterfront, the V.I. Port Authority has focused its parking plans for Cruz back on Enighed Pond.

Amid reports that VIPA Executive Director Carlton Dowe was moving full steam ahead with plans to convert the gravel lot near the tennis courts at Enighed into paid parking, work began in early September on the unfinished gravel area in front of The Marketplace on South Shore Road currently used for trailer storage and as the entrance to the barge services.

There was no immediate announcement form VIPA of what the project involved.

The Enighed facility is built in what was a mangrove salt pond with a small connection to the sea. The property was the former site of an illegal dumping ground on the property and the new project may or may not be an alternative to the planned development of cargo storage area on the nearby VIPA filled property that St. John community activist Steve Black has proposed for a community event venue.