Harry Hoffman and Anne Hardee spent much of their youth in the water, on the water or by the water, often snacking on mangoes.
Harry Andrew Hoffman met Anne Katherine Hardee in 2004 while they learned to sail an Optimist dinghy, or Opti, during summer sailing camp in St. Croix, V.I. They were both 8.
The dinghy “was the closest thing to a bathtub with a mast and sails,” said Mr. Hoffman, 28, now a lieutenant in the U.S. Coast Guard in Washington.
His family had moved to St. Croix from Toms River, N.J., in 2000, the same year her family, who lived in Fort Worth, Texas, began spending summers and school breaks there.
She recalled being “envious of his beautiful blond ringlets, bigger than Shirley Temple’s.” He was intrigued by her Texas twang.
In 2011, when she was 14, her family began spending the second half of each school year on St. Croix because they liked the community feeling.
“She was a breath of fresh air,” said Mr. Hoffman, when she joined his freshman high school class at St. Croix Country Day School, now Good Hope Country Day School.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.