Museum Confusion

Yorktown Victory center

The Museum of the American Revolution at Philadelphia opened in 2017. But one should not confuse it with the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown (pictured). Because that’s the new name for the Yorktown Victory Center overlooking the York River. Groundbreaking in Philadelphia was in spring 2017. In fact, Yorktown opened first, six weeks ahead of […]

Sailing Excellence

Thanks to all the guests who have enjoyed Williamsburg Charter Sails for their kind reviews on Trip Advisor. As a result, the charter just won the Certificate of Excellence after rising to No. 7 on the list of 71 things to do in Williamsburg. Who knew there were 71 things to do in Williamsburg? My […]

Kennedy Sailors

People ask, “Who are the most inspiring sailors?” Kennedy sailors are an American icon. President Kennedy made it glamorous by sailing on his sloop Victura out in the Atlantic off the coast of the Kennedy compound. Ted Kennedy enjoyed the contemplative nature as a sailor so much so that he cruised off Hyannis Port the […]

Sailing to Mexico

Ramona Findley of Los Angeles has crewed in offshore races from Newport Beach to Ensenada, Mexico, a 125-mile stretch that includes overnight sailing. So she and her colleagues from the LAPD and LA Sheriff’s Department had no problem sailing a mid-size Hunter on the York River on a beautiful afternoon. “I worked as the spinnaker […]

Sailing Blind

By sheer coincidence, we had two sight-impaired ladies onboard among three couples. One of them was Brenda-Ann Gillis. She ran a summer program for blind children on Florida’s Indian River. “The ages ranged from 9 or 10 up to 16. Their sighted siblings were included as part of the group, to help teach them how […]

Sailors Launched

Learn to sail

Six adults excelled this spring in the class “Adventures in Sailing” class offered on the York River under the tutelage of the Williamsburg Area Learning Tree. They learned all six points of sail, how to tack sharply, how to gibe safely, how to rescue a man overboard, how to communicate on marine radio, how to […]

Pursuit of Sailing

Renee Williams

  Renee Williams took her husband Spencer sailing on the York River as a surprise birthday present. She was reluctant to take the wheel but proved highly capable in brisk winds that required reefing (reducing) the sails. They want to get into motorboats or sailboats near where they live in Northern Virginia. I told them […]

America’s Cup 2013

The fastest sailing on Earth took place during the 2013 America’s Cup in San Francisco Bay. These $100 million catamarans rose up out of the water on hydrofoils, which can be seen in this video. They touched an astonishing 55 mph. America was down 8-1 and roared back to win 8 straigt to win 9-8. […]

Great Sailing Day

People ask, “Aaarrrghhh! Are we tipping over?” Landlubbers, women and other reasonable people are put off at first by the heeling effect of a sailboat. The optimum tilt under sail in a good wind is 10-15 degrees off center. Anything beyond that is uncomfortable and surprisingly inefficient. Despite what you’ve seen on TV or in […]

Air Force One Flies By

Every other Thursday, Air Force One flies low over the York River to nearby Langley Air Force Base for a touch-and-go landing as a drill, and then returns to Washington by a different route. I was explaining this to a couple out sailing the river when lo and behold Air Force One swooped in a […]