Having completed the halyard project (as much as possible), we departed Soper's Hole at 0930 on March 23rd bound for Cruz Bay, St. John, USVI to clear into the US Virgin Islands. We sailed downwind on genoa only in ENE 15-20. We arrived at Cruz Bay around 1100, cleared in, and departed around 1230 for our first anchorage at Salt Pond Bay, St. John where we had enjoyed snorkeling on our earlier visit. As this leg was upwind, we used the mainsail on the rethreaded halyard for the first time and all went well.

We arrived at Salt Pond Bay around 1430, but had to take a ball in an adjacent area of the bay to the east as all were occupied in Salt Pond Bay proper. Early the next morning we moved to the main mooring field after observing another boat leaving and were able to swim and snorkel at will after taking a morning hike.

Over the next several days we visited Leinster Bay, Henley Cay, and Caneel Bay – all on St. John - before transiting to Charlotte Amalie on St. Thomas on March 28th to prepare for Donna and Clara’s departure on the 29th. At Leinster Bay we picked up one of only two mooring balls available, but moved to another as better located balls became vacated in the daily turnover. The second ball was close to Waterlemon Cay and permitted us to swim off the boat instead of using the dinghy to get to the recommended snorkel spots. We found Henley Cay to have the healthiest and lush coral gardens that we have seen since last year in the Bahamas. At Caneel Bay, we anchored in front of Honeymoon Beach, a gorgeous stretch of sand with some good snorkeling easily accessible from the beach. The trip to Charlotte Amalie was uneventful, and Donna and Clara departed as scheduled, leaving Dave to settle into boat maintenance chores and routine "harbor watch" while anchored in the harbor.

Hank and Seale arrived in Charlotte Amalie on sistership S/V FLASH on March 30th and Dave had a very nice dinner aboard FLASH the following evening. On April 2nd Dave relocated Pas de Deux a short distance to the west in the lee of Water Island near where FLASH had similarly relocated the previous day. Hank and Dave teamed up as Team Virginia to enjoy watching NCAA Final Four basketball that evening at the restaurant/bar of Crown Bay Marina. They had a good dinner and a good time, but failed to get VCU into the finals….