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The Overview
The secret to a perfect island vacation is the location. Beautiful little St. John is the perfect start. High up in Upper Carolina, near the top of Ajax Peak, Satinwood is deliberately situated to face the cool, prevailing breezes. This location gives Satinwood a view most locations only dream of and a comfortable, moderate climate that allows the windows, screened of course, to open year-round.
With this perfect location, the whole design of the villa was deliberate. It compliments the hill side, and allows the cooling breezes in all across the front and out the back through high clerestories for an even, airy and comfortable vacation.
The view from Satinwood is breathtaking. Awakening each day to this view, you will know why you came to St. John.
Looking "down island" from the deck or even inside Satinwood, you can see the British Virgin Islands, including Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Salt, Peter, Ginger, Cooper and more.
These scenes from St. John are all wonderful, but pictures never really capture the magnificence of the islands.
Note that many of these plants do not bloom year-round, so you may want to time your visit if the blooms are the
Satinwood - Our family vacation home.
Ken Damon, our father and grand-father, lived on St. John year-round for over 25 years.
A physicist and engineer, he pioneered wind and solar energy efforts in the Virgin islands in the 1970's - long before any such services were available in the islands. Thankfully, there are now several reliable renewable-energy vendors and service providers in the islands these days.
He and his wife, Sylvia Weaver. designed and built Satinwood. Sylvia's connection to the islands goes back decades before they moved there
Visiting them regularly, and at times working in the islands for months or years, we have come to really know the island. We can help you with shopping information, car rentals, beach recommendations, restaurants, ferry schedules, site seeing, dive spots, and other local information. If you're staying with us, you have a friend on the island.
Let Us Help You Find Your Way
First time visitors may need a little help finding their way that first time. You will quickly become comfortable with the island. There are not many roads, so navigation is easy. Your trip to St. John will normally mean a flight to St. Thomas, a taxi to the ferry, departing from either Charlotte Amalie or Redhook, and then a ferry trip to Cruz Bay, St. John where you will need a rental car. You do need to reserve a car ahead of time. We can easily arrange to have someone meet you at the ferry dock in Cruz Bay to guide you to the rental agency you chose and to the market for provisioning. There are also some services on the island that will, for a fee, provision the villa for you before you arrive, if you prefer.
Please let us know how we can help.
Comfortable eco-living
Satinwood is an Eco-Villa with no ties to the power grid, but employs solar panels, battery systems and an automatic backup diesel generator for power. The property also features massive commercial composting toilets and recycled materials in construction.
No guest support or action is required for any of these features. Most guests forget that Satinwood is off-grid. The toilets are RV or yacht-style ultra-low flush.
Technical details for those interested
Satinwood Solar Arrays - both old and new For the technically inclined or the environmentally oriented, here is a picture of the roof of Satinwood, as of December 2012. We have two arrays of photo-voltaic cell panels now (solar panels). We are proud to report that the older array, made up of old 80 and 100 watt Photocomm and Kyocera panels, was still operating at nominal output - even after 15 years of use. The 12 new panels are 240W Tru Blu.
We operated for over 15 years on Trace inverters. An accident made us change (Trace was no longer available) and we employed Magnum Energy inverters for a few years. In 2016 we tried Sonnen for an integrated lithium battery and inverter solution. In 2017, we converted to a (SMA) Sunny Island inverter system using BMZ lithium batteries. The goal is to provide the best possible experience with no ties to the electrical grid.
On the roof we also collect water, which is required for almost all island properties. We also have two solar water heaters on the roof, adding slightly to the clutter.
Solar powered for decades
Satinwood is solar powered; free from ties to the island's utilities. The solar panel arrays, storage battery bank and fully-automatic backup generator provide reliable energy. The house power is so much like normal US-stateside electrical service that many of our guests never even notice the off-grid operation.
Our family has been high on this hill top for decades. Our experience in solar and wind power span generations.
Continuing commitment
We have experience in off-grid residential living, construction with recyled materiels, continued commitments to recyling and power systems that exploit solar and wind.
Water conservation
Like most properties on St. John, Satinwood relies on catching rain water and storing it in cisterns for a consistent supply. We also employ redundant pumps, filters and two, small LED UV water purification systems.
Composting toilets
Satinwood employs massive, commercial Clivus Multrum composting toilets. In the bathrooms, the toilet is an ultra low flush type commonly used in luxury recreational vehicles or yachts. The system uses a power venting system. No guest servicing or maintenance is required. There is a conventional toilet in the downstairs apartment.
Family, not business
As noted above, Satinwood was designed and built by our family and remains, first and foremost, our family vacation home. We share Satinwood with like-minded conservationists and others who appreciate St. John, Coral Bay and preserving our planet. Enjoy.
Tallmast
Ver: 02.20.00
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