Two couples and a solo sailor chased a Navy submarine for much of the afternoon. We motored under the Coleman Bridge to the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station so they could see a sub in port. It was the third time this season that a sub arrived, which is very unusual. The last one had its missile tubes worked on. That’s not how a sub exits the York.
As we motored back under the bridge, three hefty Navy patrol boats came roaring toward us with guns everywhere. You could see four machine guns, one for the bow, stern, port and starboard. We jockeyed near the Alliance to watch the parade, but nothing happened. Finally the wind piped up a little, so we sailed downriver. Then we heard it.
The sub emerged from the middle of the Coleman and turned right to stay in the channel. Once near the US Coast Guard training dock, it turned to port to go out in the channel. The tugboats were the advance party as the three heavily armed patrols scooted back and forth to protect the sub. “This is so cool!” said Lisa Glenn. “I’ve never seen a submarine before.” As the sun came out, it reflected off the hull to show all its length. Later I could find no name for 507, the last one dating to World War II.
Nancy and Pete Perkins of Kingsmill welcomed their sons and their gals home for a pre-Thanksgiving weekend. Their third son was en route from Utah, where he has been working on an astronomy team deep in the heartland where there is no light pollution. Nancy said, “It takes him two hours to drive to the nearest small store for food, and he has no wi-fi out there. So he’s kind of out of touch.”
A Richmond couple stayed the weekend in Williamsburg and went sailing ahead of ASA lessons in Norfolk with SailTime, where I used to teach. Cynthia Levine said, “He wanted to learn how to sail and we thought this a good introduction.” I took them through much of the ASA 101 basic course, including close reach, beam reach, broad reach, hove-to and more. 
Bonnie and I took a quick trip south to see old friends in Beaufort SC. While Bonnie shopped one afternoon in Charleston, I checked out the city docks, now taken over by the company Safe Harbor. I asked the clerk if things were better or worse now that the city was no longer in charge. She shrugged and said, “It’s corporate now, so no.” True dat.
Charleston docks are unique for the Megadock, where yachts worthy of Pier 66 or Tortola tie up. One of them was a long, open motorboat with five outboards comprising 325 hp each. Do the math. It looked very sleek. 
Another standout was a 1984 Catalina 27 that was perfectly restored. I noticed it right away because the nonskid shined as glossy gray, and all the boat lines glowed as well. The boat’s errant aspect ratio got corrected after production with an 18-inch plank extending off the bow. That appeared Bristol with a varnish finish. Indeed, all the brightwork gleamed with varnish. Even the rubrail looked replaced, from 1980s brown to 1990s grey. The most glamorous thing was the nonskid, which was professionally finished. 
Farther along was a dock loaded with Oceanis 48s and 51s by Beneteau of South Carolina. I could see around $2 million worth of luxury sailboats. Nearby a workman was trying to mount not one but two furling systems on a 50-foot yacht. While turned upside down, he struggled just to grab his tools. “I’m a contortionist!” he said cheerfully.Bonnie and I went to Gainesville for the wedding of our daughter Robin Ann O’Donovan to Christopher Chase Tucker. They’ve known each other for five years, and he has endeared himself to her children Remy and Ivan. It was a solemn yet festive occasion on a beautiful day, followed by
We saw a Navy sub for the first time this season, and the glare was obvious.
We got to see two Navy warships transit the Coleman Bridge in one day.
