Photo: The view of Coral Bay and beyond from our Thanksgiving table.

"A sunny place for shady people." That’s what we saw on a bumper sticker while visiting Coral Bay, in St. John, and when I told our friend, Sandy Mohler, owner and operator of Coral Bay Marine, that I was going to write a story about the place, she smiled and said, “Be sure to change the names to protect the innocent.”

The official St. John guidebook describes this off-the-beaten-path place as having a laid-back vibe that appeals to all kinds of people -- truth seekers looking for something, mystery men hiding from something, artsy types, honest musicians, hippies, retired couples too cool for Florida, way-cool trust fund babies and misfits from every walk of life. That pretty much sums it up … except for the fact that it’s a remarkably close-knit community that thrives on lending a helping hand.

Coral Bay is a protected anchorage on the south side of St. John, at the edge of the U.S. Virgin Islands National Park. On our most recent visit, we went there to pick up mail and before we knew it a week had flown by, filled with events and adventures.

The first night we attended a milestone birthday held under the moonlight in Blind Betty’s Garden. Betty, neither blind nor real, is the character on the label of a delicious pumpkin-flavored hot sauce, and most of its ingredients were growing around us. The birthday girl, Denise Barbier, and her husband, Truman, came to Coral Bay as cruising sailors and, like so many before them, were lured by the land and moved ashore. They own V.I. Fly Away Charters and can take you and up to five friends anywhere you want to go in the Virgin Islands aboard one of their motor catamarans. “We don’t mix and match people. Just one party at a time,” Truman explained. “You can snorkel, eat, party … whatever you want. The boats cruise at 26 knots, so we can cover a lot of ground in one day.”

On our second night we joined famed sailor, artist and musician David Wegman on his double-ended boat, African Queen II for a night of great food and story telling. David and the Queen went around the world together before the days of GPS. The influence of decades of travel appears in his paintings and sculptures. He has a studio in St. Barts above Le Select, one in Coral Bay, one in Key West, as well as a place in Maine. His many T-shirt designs are found throughout the Caribbean.

Lucky for us, we were visiting a U.S. Virgin Island during the Thanksgiving holiday. No canned turkey for us this year! Ours was a feast with 30 other past and present cruisers high atop a hill overlooking Coral Bay, with a view of the east end of St. John and the neighboring islands of the BVI. Our hours-long meal started early in the day, giving us time to swing by the late afternoon Thankspigging at the notorious establishment, Skinny Legs. It’s a long-standing tradition of roasting pigs, turkeys, hams and, this year, alligator, all for the homeless. The entire community is invited to bring a dish and join in. It’s an event to be thankful for, as long as you don’t meander into the horseshoe pit.

Jan