So, you ask yourself, what might a typical day be like sailing in the islands?

To position ourselves back in the USVI to welcome three sets of guests in pretty close succession, we planned to depart the BVI and re-enter the USVI several days in advance of the first guests' arrival due to the expected onset of a nasty cold front. The front would bring strong NE winds and seas and we wanted to get off the north side of the BVIs to a more protected anchorage in the vicinity of western St. John/eastern St. Thomas. We were ready to make this move on Sunday, January 15th, but chose to wait until Monday the 16^th in order to avoid having to pay extra for clearing out of the BVI on a Sunday. And another day in Cane Garden Bay can’t be bad….

To describe a typical day of activities (particularly when a change of anchorage is in the cards), here’s a more detailed account of our day than we usually describe so that you can imagine whether you could be compatible with our lifestyle!

Donna wakes well before dawn (between 0430 and 0530), Dave shortly before dawn to make coffee for himself before weather router Chris Parker’s 0700 SSB radio weather forecast. If we can receive a local VHF weather report in the area, we tune in. In the area of the USVI the U.S. National Weather Service in San Juan, PR presents local weather in a continuous loop in both Spanish and English. At 0700 we listen to Chris. We confirm that the weather forecasts don’t create a "change of mind" about our planned departure and/or destination. We find time to eat some breakfast which consists this day of yummy boat- made raisin bread.

Dave performs engine checks, we take down and stow our portable sun awning, move the teak deck chairs from the cockpit to stow inside, stow the grill and propane bottle, close hatches and ports, and lay out paper charts for our destination.

We prepare the boat to weigh anchor and get underway with the sail plan decided. This is easier than normal this day as we plan to motor instead of sail the short distance from Cane Garden Bay to Soper’s Hole due to very light wind conditions. Otherwise, we would prepare sails for the conditions we expect. This could mean freeing the mainsail from its tie downs, electing to either raise it while stationery at anchor or shortly after underway and/or preparing to unfurl the genoa; or perhaps running the necessary lines to hoist our choice of spinnaker or Code 0 sail.

We are always looking to use energy efficiently and, since we planned on motoring, this is a good time to be able to consume 110v AC electricity run through an inverter from the 12v DC power restored to the boat’s batteries by a running engine. Today, Donna will make pizza crust dough with the bread maker, which has a high electrical demand that can more easily be met while motoring, when the boat’s batteries charge at higher current than the solar panels can provide.

We start “today’s” engine. Which engine (port or starboard) depends on whether it’s an “odd” (port) or “even” (starboard) calendar date, to balance the wear over time on each. While we have two diesel engines, it is not necessary to use both underway. We may elect to start both when departing and entering an anchorage to allow for quicker maneuverability in all directions.   It’s an even day, so we start the starboard engine, then follow with a start of the port engine. This morning, Dave finds that the port engine won’t start--making some redundancy (i.e. a second engine) a good thing! However, Dave has been expecting this to occur since both engine’s batteries are eleven-year-old original equipment. It is readily possible on Pas de Deux to cross-connect the house batteries to start either engine using manual breakers, which Dave proceeds to do for the port engine, then un-cross connecting the house batteries after it has started. We will be able to purchase a new starter battery at St Thomas.

With the engines on, we turn on electronics (instruments, chart plotter, radio, autopilot), turn on the water maker, turn on the inverter to power the bread maker, turn on the bread maker, and we’re good to go!

We weigh anchor by first retrieving our anchor chain bridle (used to stabilize movement while anchored), then motor up along the laid length of the chain to retrieve the anchor. Donna runs the motorized anchor windlass from the trampoline, giving hand signals to Dave for forward, back, port, starboard direction. With the anchor finally drawn up to the boat, we motor out of the anchorage, shutting down today the port engine.

Within minutes of turning on the engine, we check the water maker product water and when in spec (<500 ppm TDS) route its RO flow to one of two water tanks depending on which indicates the lowest level on our display panel.

Our destination at Soper’s Hole (to clear out of the country) means that we will need to pick up a mooring ball in that bay (rather than anchor). After getting underway, Dave stows the bridle until we will need it again for anchoring. He then rigs the necessary lines at each bow required for securing the boat to a mooring ball.

All of the above typically happens by 0800 hours local time.

Underway to Soper’s Hole we can relax a bit, but have to maintain topside watch and navigate. This is easy this morning as we departed before many folks wake up and there’s little traffic to be seen. We set one temporary GPS waypoint outside the entrance to Soper’s Hole and set the autopilot to steer to it. It’s only about 3.5 nm straight line with no obstacles.

We motor into Soper’s Hole looking for available mooring balls (use Google Earth “Fly to” to find 18 23'10"N 064 42'15"W). As we get close in we restart the port engine and it starts normally since its battery got charged enough with its earlier run. It’s about 0900. As we will be here just long enough to clear out of BVI Customs/Immigration – and finish the pizza dough – we won’t have to pay for a mooring ball and there’s no room in shallow enough water to anchor with the clutter of mooring balls. But, we don’t see any vacant balls – for the same reason we didn’t see much traffic on the way from Cane Garden Bay – it’s still early before most boats are moving about, and could be expected. We do see a charter cat on a ball rigging boat fenders and we pass close enough to ask if they plan on going to the fuel dock? Yes, comes the answer – in just a few minutes. So we wait for that ball and pick it up routinely.

To pick up mooring balls, we switch roles from our anchoring routine where Dave maneuvers the boat and Donna works the anchor windlass at the bow. When picking up a mooring ball Donna maneuvers the boat to the ball and Dave picks up the floating pendant at the bow with a boat hook because he has a longer reach – the bow is six feet above the waterline. A typical mooring consists of a floating ball approximately twenty inches in diameter to which a strong line is attached to some fixture on the water’s bottom. A pendant consisting of a smaller float on a similar strong line approximately ten feet long is also attached to the line between the ball and the bottom.

We make a joint decision about which ball we will select and Donna maneuvers the boat to approach the ball and pendant from directly downwind. She brings the starboard bow right up to the pendant, maneuvering with easy sight from the starboard helm (where the engine controls are located). As we get very close to the pendant Dave will provide hand signals for maneuvering since the pendant and ball can become hidden by the boat’s bow. If all goes well, Donna brings the bow right to the pendant and stops the boat as Dave reaches and grabs it with our extendable boat hook.

Dave then raises the pendant to deck level and passes the first of two mooring lines through the pendant eye, with its opposite end already secured to a bow cleat. By now Donna has put the engines in neutral, but stands by in case further maneuvers are required – like if Dave flubs the pickup. Dave pulls the length of the mooring line through the pendant eye and temporarily ties it off tight to the bow with the eye still within reach. The boat is now secure on starboard. Now we can take our time and pass the second mooring line through the eye, with its opposite end already secured to the port bow. Once this is done we simultaneously lengthen the starboard mooring line and shorten the port line such that the two lines are approximately equal length, resulting in the bow of the boat being centered on the mooring – just as if we were on the anchor bridle.

On the ball now, at Soper’s Hole, we leave the starboard engine running a bit longer to service the 15 minutes still to go on the pizza dough in the bread maker, shut down the port engine, and prepare to lower the dinghy to go ashore. We also get all our stored trash bags out of the cockpit locker and collect the rest of our trash in the boat to take to shore. There’s a convenient dumpster for public use near the Customs/Immigration office.

Knowing we’ll use the dinghy again today to go to US Customs/Immigration in St. John, we decide to pump up the one of its three air chambers with the slow leak. This involves using an AC powered auto tire pump Dave modified to fit the air receptacle on the dinghy. Since we’re already using the inverter for the bread maker this is good timing – just get out the extension cord to run the air pump from an AC receptacle in the saloon. To add air we have to lower the dinghy a bit from the davits so Dave can reach inside to the air receptacle. At the same time, we pull the dinghy transom plug to drain the rain water it has collected recently (a relatively small amount compared to what it could contain if it weren’t for the fact that our dinghy is “garaged” completely under our span of solar panels). Add air, re-raise the dinghy to be able to reach inside and re-install the drain plug. Next, lower the dinghy all the way to the water. By the time all this is done, the bread maker is finished and Donna sets the dough aside to settle while we go ashore. We shut down the inverter and electronics.

On this occasion Dave decides to flush the water maker with fresh water to allow it to sit unused for up to five days. Otherwise we have to run it every day to prevent salt water from sitting in it idle for too long and fouling the reverse osmosis membrane. After the flush, Dave shuts down the water maker, then shuts down the starboard engine. Everything is off. We dress in respectful attire to go to the British Customs and Immigration office.

Donna has already collected all the paperwork required, along with our passports, so to leave we just have to lock the boat, load the trash into the dinghy, unhook the dinghy hoist lines, start its outboard, and we’re off! It’s a short ride to the dinghy dock and we lock up the dinghy next to an identical model of the new dinghy we're buying in Sint Maarten. We take the opportunity to make a side by side comparison and are happy with our new choice.

We take the trash bags to the nearby dumpster, then walk to the Customs office. There’s no wait and we accomplish the first step with the first two people – apparently one performing the Customs part and one performing the Immigration part. Before we can finish we have to go next door to the Treasury guy to pay our departure fee – US$1.00 (for the paper forms we consumed) – then return with our $1 receipt to retrieve our passports and exit papers. All complete, we return to the boat, raise the dinghy, and prepare to get underway again. Donna forms the pizza dough onto cookie sheets and partially bakes them in the oven, after which the crusts are refrigerated for later use.

All of this happened by 1000 hours local time.

Without repeating all the departure and underway details again, we lowered our BVI courtesy flag flown from the starboard spreader and departed Soper’s Hole and the BVI for Cruz Bay, St. John to clear into US Customs. The port engine starts again without cross connecting the batteries. On this move we used the genoa off the wind as we had further to go and the wind had increased enough to make reasonable time under sail alone, so shortly after drawing in the lines that release us from the mooring ball, we are able to shut down both engines.

Approaching Cruz Bay Dave switches lines from the mooring configuration back to anchoring with bridle. We start the starboard engine and furl the genoa. The port engine starts again OK.

At Cruz Bay there’s a convenient temporary anchorage set aside specifically for boats to clear through Customs. It has a three-hour time limit. This is a lot more time than is really needed, so we plan to also pick up a few groceries while here. There are two grocery stores within walking distance of the dinghy dock. Several other boats are in the anchorage when we arrive but we manage to find enough room to drop anchor. (18 20'03"N 064 47'44"W)

Oops – we realized it’s a federal holiday – MLK Day. Not to worry – the cruise guide says customs is open 7 days a week/365 days a year. We hope we don’t have to pay overtime charges. We lower the dinghy again and depart, this time bringing our rolling hand cart to haul any groceries back to the boat.

US customs is routine, but we find out we have to pay a $35 fee for holiday service. Dern. Even if we had known this we wouldn’t have wanted to hang around the BVI another day because of the approaching poor weather. So we grin and bear it as we support the local labor force. We got all the usual questions, including, “Did you purchase anything in the BVI that you’re bringing into the US?”  Donna answered, “No.”  Without skipping a beat Dave continued, “…we drank it all.”  This brought a big smile to the customs official as he continued his tasks. Dave sees this and continued the banter, “Yea, after this we have to go find some Cruzan.”  Donna giggles. Dave and the customs guy were instant friends, sharing their favorite Cruzan rum varieties while Donna just rolled her eyes. We still had to pay $35….

We next head off to the grocery store. Donna doesn’t like the veggie selection in the closest store, so we continue on to the next one we know about, taking note of the first store’s rum and beer prices for later comparison. We find what we want at the second store and head back with a full hand cart. Except for one rum variety Dave wanted, the beer and rum prices are cheaper at the second store – by several dollars – but we stop at the first store again on the way back to pick up the exception. We finally return to the dinghy and head back to the boat, arriving by 1330. We prepare the boat to leave for the third time today.

All of this happened by 1400 hours local time.

The port engine continued to start with no problem, apparently due to the ability of the battery to hold a charge for a short time. We departed Cruz Bay for a new-to-us anchorage in Nazareth Bay, St. Thomas. We used the genoa alone again for the short sail off the wind to the south side of St. Thomas via Current Cut (18 18'52"N 064 50'00.5"W). At Current Cut we passed close by Great St. James Island and Christmas Cove – our backup anchorage in case Nazareth Bay doesn’t work out for some reason. Free mooring balls were available at that time if we needed to return. But we arrived and got anchored on the first try in Nazareth Bay by 1500 hours (18 19'08"N 064 51'20"W). We secured the boat for the third time today and set up to grill dinner. Deck chairs out, sun awning rigged, music on. Dave opens a new rum bottle….

We have dinner, it’s Donna’s turn to do the dishes, and we top off the day with an encore showing of Pirates of the Caribbean, Dead Man’s Chest on the battery-operated DVD player that Donna’s sister gave her for Christmas. In our bunk by 2130 – a late night for us.

Just another day of cruising….