Owner Bryan Updyke: Your personal guide to the waterways of St Croix, is part artist, part historian and part actor! Bryan moved to St Croix after hurricane Hugo, in 1990, to invest in real estate. He moved into a wrecked house, and over the course of a year, put it back together himself. He managed the landscape department at Carambola Beach Resort, then a Westin, for 9 years. During that time; he implemented a turtle nesting site and watch at Davis Bay; rebuilt the landscape and beach after hurricane Marylin; and blazed the original trail to The Tidal Pools at Wills Bay with his landscape crew. He and his crew also volunteered their time at Cane Bay Beach, where they enlarged the beach on the east side, by cutting out invasive Tan Tan trees. He recently appeared on Rediscover St Croix, with Janeisha John, to show the camera crew where the fabled Maroon Cave is located. He discovered the cave, after many years of searching, while kayaking the north coast of the island. After finding Taino artifacts on St Croix, he became interested in Pre Columbian history and has been a student of Pre-Columbian  Art and history for over 20  years. Over the past nine years, he has worked diligently to aquire a massive Taino Artifact collection: The David Vittum Collection. This collection is comprised of several hundred original Taino works in stone, ceramic, shell and bone. His dream is to have a permanent facility to securely  house this collection, and make it available for public viewing. For now, he has created The Caribbean Indigenous Arts and Crafts Museum. Here he displays many of his own reproductions of the originals, a collection of Carib Dugout Canoes, paintings of Zemis and educational materials. Several times a year, he welcomes school groups to the museum for tours. In November, Bryan has a open pit bonfire, to fire his handmade ceramics. The public is invited to come. It is his wish that more people become aware of the Taino and Carib or Kalinago people and their contributions to the world. Since then, he has been the #1 advocate for Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve. Over the past 15 years, he has removed trash and debris from the beaches, campaigned for the park to the office of The Governor, The Department of Tourism, The National Park Service, Local Schools and to the general public. His dream is to someday see The multi component, Native American Village be recreated in the park. When he is not kayaking, he is creating works of art in clay, wood, feather and shell. During the off season he is cutting new hiking trails at Cane Bay. It's really hard to miss his passion for the environment and the history of St Croix. He wants St Croix to be beautiful for future generations.

Bryan and his "other wife" Kelly

Bryan inside Maroon Cave

Jill is a graduate of Salisbury University with a degree in Philosophy. She is  the graphic arts designer for Virgin Kayak Tours, runs and directs Cane Bay Campground, and also guides  kayak tours in her spare time. You can find her snorkeling, mountain biking, and hiking the hills and valleys around the north shore.


Please Check out our Facebook pages: Caribbean Indigenous Arts and Crafts Museum; Taino AYAY Art; Kayak St Croix: Kayak Virgin Islands; Sea Kayak Adventures, US Virgin Islands; Virgin Kayak Tours; Virgin Islands Hobie Dealer; Camp Cane Bay; Salt River Bay National Park and Cane Bay Campground, Virgin Islands

Bryan and Jill