Historic Halloween

If you suspend the disbelief that there was no Halloween in Williamsburg during the 1770s, you will find the presentation by Colonial Williamsburg in the Revolutionary City quadrant of the Historic Area to be quite compelling.  Welcome to “A Haunting on DoG Street: Blackbeard’s Revenge.” It’s designed to draw in more families to a wider, more […]

Sitting in the Catbird Seat

Hoffman, Williamsburg Charter Sails

  One joyful surprise of a charter sail is the unique experience sitting in the catbird seat on boat of 30 feet or longer. The concept was pioneered by Hunter Sailboats in the early 1980s as twin “stern perch” seats on the aft rail, but the term catbird quickly eclipsed that. Catalina Sailboats and Beneteau Sailboats […]

Runaway Slaves

Runaway slaves found themselves in an unusual situation during the American Revolution. The new republic touted liberty and freedom, but this did not extend to all members of society.  If they escaped the plantation they could gain their freedom from the British, and that factored into Williamsburg and Yorktown. In her new book, “Epic Journeys to […]

Sailing vs. Powerboating

Fishing& Sailing

The first thing that people discover about charter sails vs. powerboating is how quiet sailing is. Once the engine is cut off, the sound of silence is distinct. Women notice it first and appreciate it better than men. Everyone begins to hear the waves lapping as the sailboat glides through water. When birds are close, […]

Sailing through Life

The emotional pull of sailing leads to all kinds of analogies and metaphors about life. The very Zen of the experience has inspired numerous posters and bumper stickers. Here’s a unique twist in a video with Oprah Winfrey by Episcopal priest Barbara Brown Taylor,  a professor of religion at Piedmont College in north Georgia. “I think we’d […]

Sailing Trifecta of Cool Sights

Three couples from West Virginia, Illinois and Texas nearly hit the Sailing Trifecta of Cool Sights on the York River. They had never met before and had a fun time on a beautiful fall afternoon. First, they got to see a small pod of dolphins frolicking in front of Sara Creek. Two and then three dolphins romped […]

World’s Largest Sailing Yacht

  The world’s largest sailing yacht is so big that its size rivals a Navy warship coming through the Coleman Bridge at Yorktown. This week the modestly named Sailing Yacht A set out for sea trials in Germany, where it’s being built for Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko. He owns the equally unique Motor Yacht A. Sources put the length of […]

Sailing through Grade School

Here’s an idea from San Francisco about sailing through grade school that would work well on the York River, or any river large enough for small boats. Thousands of fourth graders enjoying a new twist on science and math lessons while learning basic principles of sailing as part of Set Sail Learn. It’s billed as […]

Oysters in the Bay

They are comparatively few and far between today, but oysters used to clog the Chesapeake Bay. These days, we see precious few oyster men while sailing the York River. Virginia’s catch has dropped from nearly 8 million bushels in the early 1900s to half a million today. The industry began here in the early 1800s when […]

Yorktown in the War of 1812

While not nearly as prominent as it was in the American Revolution, Yorktown had its moment in history during the War of 1812. By 1813 the British had the Chesapeake Bay bottled up with 300 warships compared with only seven by the United States. But we also had 14 small schooners known as revenue cutters, […]