Tim the Trumpetfish

Greetings! I am Tim the Trumpetfish and live by Great St James and I would like to give you a glimpse into my underwater realm!

We are actually relatives of seahorses and can be yellow or green with blue or purple heads and to make it more intresting we can easily change color!  We can exceed a meter in length and our heads being about one third of that length!  We swim vertically with our snout down to blend into the background of sea sponges ,sea fans and sea whips to hide from predators or feed.

We have to be very crafty when trying to catch a meal. We can hang out with large herbivorous creatures shadowing them till we have the opportunity to strike,but usually we  hang vertically in the water, drifting with the current till the unlucky victim passes underneath us then,WHAM! We suck them up like a vaccum using a method called "pipette feeding"and lunch is served! (We are not limited by the visible size of our snuts we have elastic tissues that strech to accommidate larger meals if need be!)

Well, enough of the spooky stuff we are also quite the lovers! Our courtship rituals or "dances" are very elaborate using our color changing abilities. But thats not all! The men carry a huge burden in the reproductive process! We are the ones who not only fertilize but carry the eggs in a our pouch till they are born! So ladies there are great guys out there who also share your pain.

There is so much more to us than what meets the eyes - come and see whats under the caribbean waters! Call New Horizons Charters at 340-775-1171 and they'll be sure to make arrangements to intoduce us to each other... I look forward to meeting you! =)

Congratulations to one of our Own!

Our Very own Jodi Longshore has had the best day of her life yesterday!

Starting the day, she met 20 GQ Mexican models who were here in St. Thomas, USVI for a cover photoshoot for the Mexican Edition. She swam with them and got to know them a little and then, they shocked her by asking her to be a part of the photoshoot.

Thinking that this was too good an opportunity to pass up she accepted, but with reservations as to what her boyfriend might think.

Upon getting home to share her good news, she found yet another surprise - her boyfriend waiting to ask her to be his wife!

She said YES!!!

Now she sports a beautiful Sapphire engagement ring. Congratulations Jodi!!

Coral Reef

Hi, I'm a Coral Reef in the Virgin Islands and although I may look like a rock thats underwater there is much more to me than what meets the eye! Come with me on a journey to see what secrets I hide!

Coral reefs are made of tiny polyps who look like tiny sea anemones that are linked together in groups to form the coral and live in water up to a range of 6m deep and grow less than 3cm per year! 

I am quite fragile despite me looking like a rock!  Just touching or standing on me could kill part of me that took so long to grow, so please keep a healthy distance from me!

We are quite amazing if I may say so! We can protect and feed a varitey of sea creatures and fish, protect coastal dwellings and coastline by forming a natural barrier from severe weather, and over 500 million people depend upon us for their food and livelihood.

We also are used in the treatment of Cancer, HIV, Cardiovascular Diseases and even Ulcers. Some of our limestone skelentons have even been used in grafting human bones!

There is so much more to tell so come on down and see for yourself the underwater gardens and the power of Coral Reefs. Call New Horizons Charters at 340-775-1171 to reserve your front row seat to the beautiful Coral Reefs of the Virgin Islands!



Blue Tangs in the National Park (St. John)

Here's a message from a friendly Blue Tang at Honeymoon Beach in the National Park - St. John:

Helloooooooo!  I'm a Blue Tang living in St John at Honeymoon Beach (you may know our famous Dory who was in a family movie) and I would love to tell you about my wonderful life here in the Virgin Islands.

Blue Tangs are very vibrant and colorful fish, starting with yellows, then light blues, and even deep purple although we are called BlueTangs. We are also called Surgeon or Dr. Fish by the Locals here, either way we are sure to catch your eye while snorkeling through here! We are not very shy!

We like hanging out in large crowds over the reefs and we are more plentiful than any other fish species, accounting for an observed 15.4% of the region's overall fish population here in the U.S. Virgin Islands (according to studies done over a 10-year period in waters adjacent to the Virgin Islands) and we love to eat algae over the reefs.

We can alter the hues of our scales, and that's fun, but our flesh is poisonous and combined with our sharp spines which we can stand straight up if we feel threatend, so we are not a fish to scoff at! So like anything you see in the wild its probably best NOT TO TOUCH since you may not know what will happen if you get on our bad side, or the extent of damage you may cause by simple curiosity.

Not to frighten you, we just like to swarm around new and curious things and are friendly.  I'd even go as far to say we are the hams in our neck of the woods and greet every boat that pops by so we hope to see you folks out on this tour (Full Day Sail) with New Horizons and Breakaway Charters on St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Now don't forget to make reservations! I hear that's how it works over there, so call New Horizons and Breakaway Charters @ 340-775-1171.

See ya!