I've been going to St. John for a number of years, but only to St. Croix in the last couple of years. I've really been taken by the culture and friendliness of St. Croix, and our trip this summer will be 100% on STX for the first time. I hesitate to comment on the camp, but can offer a little bit of info since no one else has volunteered.

Sorry to say I've only driven by the camp as we went up Creque Dam Rd from F'sted to the Virgin Islands Sustainable Farming Institute ( http://www.visfi.org) which also has some lodging, as well as educational and volunteer programs. The camp's web site ( http://www.mtvictorycamp.com) looks lovely, but the sign from the road looked so dilapidated that I was surprised to see the attractive web site.

I think it would be a bit of a walk to the beach (around 2 miles) and another 1/2 to 1 mile from there down into F'sted. I don't think I'd be interested without some transportation that shortened my time on a very narrow and dark road. I'm sure the hike to the beach would be great, though. You sound like an adventurous lot, so the hikes might not be too bad. (We don't bat an eye at the hike from North Shore Rd. on STJ down to Salomon or Honeymoon, though, but I don't think that is even close to a mile.)

STJ is on a much smaller scale, offers a variety of different kinds of beach/bay with tremendous snorkeling pretty much around the entire island, yet has some good hikes as well. In terms of "getting my feet wet" with a VI experience, I would lean towards St. John. I stayed at both Maho and Cinnamon when I was in grad school. I think I enjoyed the Maho experience a bit more, and wasn't annoyed by the restricted showering hours. Maho is a bit farther from town, so, depending on your transporation plans, might be a tiny bit more convenient if you're going home late in the evening.

I preferred a tent away from the water at Maho and didn't have any issue with bugs. (After a rainy spell, the low ground and beaches towards Cruz Bay can be beset with no-see-ums at dusk...I'd rather walk a few steps up from the water than get eaten alive.) There's a hike up to Centerline Rd. from Cinnamon that might interest you, and, once on Centerline, you can pick up either the Reef Bay or L'Esperance/Seiben/Mollendal trail down to the southern shore. That would be an epic hike and require LOTS of water, sunscreen and bug spray... There's also Concordia in addition to Maho and Cinnamon. My younger sister stayed at Concordia and enjoyed it, but said it didn't work for her without a jeep.

As for crime, I can't imagine thieves would target the Mt. Victory Camp when the touristy areas would be softer targets. The camp is fairly isolated and has an owner presence that would make the place unattractive for mischief. Even big St. Croix seems like an everyone knows everyone else "small world" kind of place. Trouble makers at the camp or VISFI would be so out of place that they would be daft to go there. I'm pretty much a poverty traveller, and don't take things to the beach that I'm not willing to lose. I have been fortunate not to have any experience with thieves or violence in the decades I've been visiting.

Maybe my comments will launch a bit of discussion with people more familiar with the west end beaches on STX that you would reach from the camp.