Waterlemon Cay is a small

cay A cay ( ), also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island on the surface of a coral reef. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, including in the Caribbean and on the Great ...

surrounded by a fringing reef located in Leinster Bay on

Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands Saint John ( da, Sankt Jan) is one of the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean Sea and a constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincorporated territory of the United States. Saint John () is the smallest of the thre ...

. It is named after the

water lemon ''Passiflora laurifolia'', commonly known as the water lemon, Jamaican honeysuckle, golden bellapple, pomme liane on Martinique & Guadeloupe and orange lilikoi (yellow lilikoi, or simply lilikoi, is the name given to ''passiflora edulis v. flavic ...

. The cay is surrounded by a fringing reef, and is considered to be one of the best

snorkeling Snorkeling ( British and Commonwealth English spelling: snorkelling) is the practice of swimming on or through a body of water while equipped with a diving mask, a shaped breathing tube called a snorkel, and usually swimfins. In cooler waters, a ...

spots on the island. A trail leads from the sandy beach at Leinster Bay approximately along the point, from which is a ten-minute swim to the cay, where there is a small beach. The cay boasts a wide variety of reef fishes and coral, however

bleaching Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product that is used industrially or domestically to remove color (whitening) from a fabric or fiber or to clean or to remove stains in a process called bleaching. It often refers specifically, to ...

is prevalent, and the marine life has decreased in recent times. Many attribute the depletion of

Coral reefs of the Virgin Islands One of the marine ecosystems found in the Virgin Islands are the coral reefs. These coral reefs can be located between the islands of Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, St. Croix, Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, St. Thomas, and Saint John, U.S. ...

to high rates of erosion and runoff caused by the construction boom on the Islands.

History

Local lore states that when

dueling A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and la ...

was outlawed in the Danish West Indies, the remote strip of sand on Waterlemon Cay became the preferred spot to engage in combat.

Gallery

File:Leinster-Bay-Trail Saint-John-VI 2022-04-22 D.jpg, Waterlemon Bay and Cay File:LeinsterBayTrailMap.JPG, Map of Leinster Bay trail File:LeinsterBayWaterlemon.JPG, View from Leinster Bay trail, including Waterlemon Cay File:LeinsterBayBeach.JPG, Leinster Bay File:LeinsterBayTurtle.JPG, Turtle near Waterlemon Cay

References

External links

St John Beach Guide: Waterlemon Cay
Beaches of the United States Virgin Islands Landforms of Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands Islands of the United States Virgin Islands {{SaintJohnVI-geo-stub