ai Monday is often arrival day for warships transiting from Norfolk Naval Base to Yorktown Naval Weapons Station. A family visiting Williamsburg from the Finger Lakes region of New York rode out on Sarah Creek in great anticipation. Right away we ran into a pod of dolphins in the creek.
A lovely couple from landlocked Staunton, Virginia, came to Let’s Go Sail on a beautiful Friday to learn the fundamentals. Kelly and Todd Armentrout once sailed on a Hobie Cat and found they love the idea of being out on the water, in the elements of the wind. They
Boating and sailing are primarily leisure activities, and many people thus treat it differently than driving a car. For anyone operating the boat, however, the responsibilities should be taken seriously. This is especially so when it comes to drinking or using drugs. The operator of a boat or a jet
An unusual sight confronted commuters over the Coleman Bridge. As the Navy warship Laboon exited the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station, it passed the Navy’s cable-laying USS Zeus just below the Coleman Bridge, off Yorktown. The Zeus was coming into Cheatham Annex after a six-month deployment in the Atlantic. The
People ask, “Can you get a photo of a Navy ship coming through the Coleman Bridge?” A Houston couple left on vacation after Hurricane Harvey and arrived in Virginia in time for the remnants of Hurricane Irma. The resulting sail on the York River was much more pleasant and quite
With the threat of Hurricane Irma looming and amid a bevy of oil tankers that showed up in the York River, we went sailing on a bright and beautiful day with two delightful couples. Julio Pons and his wife took their friends Steve and Bridgette Perry sailing so they could
Hurricanes such as Harvey, Irma and Jose inspire anxiety among sailors. In describing how to survive a sailboat emergency, these are ranked not by worst case downward because all of them are bad scenarios. Instead, they are ranked by degree of likelihood-to-happen, with the top categories representing the least likely
A rare work of art blew into Sara Creek at Gloucester Point with the arrival last week of a 1926 Herreshoff sailboat. The name is famous as the manufacturer of America’s Cup boats going back a century or more. The Herreshoff Marine Museum in Bristol, Rhode Island, heralds the sailboats and
“I was a slug, I’ve ridden with slugs, and I’ve driven with slugs.” So claimed Steve Relitz as we sailed an adventure on the York River with his mother and siblings on the occasion of his brother Sam’s 27th birthday. Steve lives in Stafford County, just outside Fredericksburg, and commutes
Linda Nay of Henrico took her family sailing on a misty afternoon that led to sprinkles on and off. “We don’t mind,” her husband Kent said. “We’re outdoor people and like all kinds of activity, even when the weather isn’t perfect.” The simply wanted to sail a new river.
A couple from Leesburg and a family from all over Virginia coincidentally went sailing on the York River on a blustery, overcast day. Sara Bailey took the helm and managed very well despite rising seas in winds blowing around 10 mph. We headed across the river and then turned
A young couple from Prince George County is rehabilitating a summer home in Mathews County, with views of Chesapeake Bay. The job started last March with the husband and his father doing most of the work. Now that the job is almost finished, husband Ricky Elder is taking a
People ask me all the time what to see in Williamsburg while they’re here on vacation. It depends on how much time you have, but here’s my list of Top Ten Things. It includes in parenthesis the ranking for the attraction or activity on Trip Advisor. This list correlates to
The York River took an eerie sky and temperatures fell slightly on the open water, compared to land. The best line of the day came from an 11-year-old whose mother asked sweetly if she could see the eclipse with her special solar glasses. “Yes, Mom, it’s ALL I can see
Two wonderful ladies with exciting jobs went sailing on a serene afternoon along the York River. Chanda Ings celebrated her partner Janell Smith-Ings’ birthday, and Janell took it well. “Hooray, I’m 40!” she exclaimed from the bow. Janelle teaches dance for the Governor’s School in Norfolk and is an adjunct
Sometimes the conversation tops the sailing. Such was the case with Chris and Cheryl Wolf of Jacksonville, recently of Philadelphia. We set sail along the York River on a sunny morning of rising winds that eventually died down. As we got to talking about backgrounds, Chris said, “I was
In 1777, Johann Conrad Döhla journeyed from present-day Germany to fight alongside the British Army during the American War for Independence. He was one of the about 20,000 German-speaking troops, collectively referred to as “Hessians,” hired by King George III to help defeat the American Revolutionaries. Döhla fought from New
If the wind is right, you can sail under the Coleman Bridge. While proceeding out Sarah Creek into the York River, a fellow asked if we could do just that. I was puzzled since the bridge was barely in view. Then he explained. “I was the chief bridge inspector on
Before Yorktown, Lord Earl Cornwallis was quite the warrior. So was Francis Marion, who earned the moniker the “Swamp Fox” for his exploits in South Carolina. Journalist John Oller debunks numerous myths in a new biography, “Swamp Fox: How Francis Marion Saved the American Revolution.” In this extract, Cornwallis’s lieutenant Banastre Tarleton and Marion
Even as the sailing season continues to rev up, osprey season is winding down. They arrive in May to build their nests in one week. They have their fledglings in June and teach them to fly and fish in July. By August, they’re out of here on the way to