Crab Races

Friends and family visited us last month, and so Bob and I got to trot the tourist routes. In particular, we took our guests to the crab races, a favorite activity among island visitors. Crab races? Yes, everyone has the same reaction.

St. Croix has a large population of hermit crabs (crabs that live, love and travel inside a sea shell, a sort of mobile home). Tiny as pebbles, or large as a fist (they migrate to larger shells as they grow), we see them crawling along on the side of the road, in gardens, and even on hilltops.

Local couple Tito and Sue saw the potential in these critters and set out to race them a few times a week at various beach bars around the island. For $2, you can sponsor a crab of your choice and give it a name, which gets written on masking tape on the seashell. Don't be fooled by size because the little ones can be very fast! All sponsored crabs go into an overturned bucket at the center of a large chalk circle. With Sue blaring a trumpet, Tito adding spirited commentary and the crowd cheering their crabs, the bucket is lifted and the race begins. The first crab to reach the circle line wins. There are a bunch of races and the winners get free dinners, jewelry, rum, snorkeling and kayaking trips, etc., all donated from local businesses.

We went to the races on our 18th wedding anniversary, so we aptly named our crab "18." It won us a free kayak tour in Salt River. And we went kayaking, we got a beautiful rainbow to boot!