Hassel Island

Add some adventure to your Virgin Islands vacation by exploring Hassel Island, an island of roughly 136 acres. Take a ferry from Crown Bay for around $3.50 and spend the day hiking. Be sure to bring enough water and food to enjoy the day.

The best way to experience Hassel Island is a unique historic kayaking tour with V.I. Ecotours [340] 779-2155. Starting at 8:30 a.m., this three- hour adventure begins at their new floating dock at the Frenchtown Marina. A short paddle takes you to the Garrison House for an informative talk and a seven minute hike to explore Fort Willoughby. Kayaking continue through the coaling station dock and Careening Cove to the Creque Marine Slipway. Masks and fins are provided at Garden Bay to explore the underwater ledge running the length of the beach before the short trip back to Frenchtown.

Hassel Island is located just outside of Charlotte Amalie, once a peninsula of St. Thomas. It was separated by the Danish government in 1860 to allow better circulation of water in the harbor and to facilitate harbor traffic. The United States Army Corps of Engineers widened the channel in 1919, two years after the United States purchased the Danish West Indies. The Danish used the island to defend busy CharlotteAmalie harbor in the 18th and 19th centuries. The British occupied Hassel Island during the Napoleonic Wars and the ruins of Fort Willoughby and Fort Shipley can still be seen there.

In 1840 a group of Danish business men built a marine railway operation for boat and sail repairs. The shipping company facilities were used until 1885 but the marine railway was still in operation in the 1960s. It is one of the earliest steam-powered marine railways in the western hemisphere and the oldest surviving example of a steam powered marine railway in the world.

The Paiewonsky family, a prominent local family, owned most of the island in the middle of the 20th century as well as a small hotel immortalized in Herman Wouk’s novel Don’t Stop the Carnival. Now most of the island is part of the Virgin Islands National Park. The rest of the island is divided between territorial government and a few private residences. Four historical structure on the island are listed on the National Historic Places Registry. One is the remains of a British military garrison built during a brief British occupation. Another is the marine railway, then the ruins of Fort Willoughby and Fort Shipley can be seen.