Captain's Blog

Junior Sailor Expertise

Junior Sailor Expertise

A junior sailor from suburban Buffalo got a chance to run a giant spinnaker on warmer waters than she’s used to. Matt Meincke brought his children Madison and Zak to Williamsburg on vacation, and they set sail on the York River on a magnificently breezy afternoon with another family. Madison

Read More »
Family Sailing Experience

Family Sailing Experience

A Richmond couple got stuck in traffic for an hour as they finally brought their four young children to the marina to go sailing. The contrast was evident as the sailboat scooted out to the York River with all the room in the world to drive. Light winds propelled us

Read More »
Courageous Captains Sailing

Courageous Captains Sailing

  Exactly one year later, retired Navy Capt. Terry Culton and his wife Helen returned to sail the York River, this time with friends Mike and Debbie Decicco. Unlike last year when the winds were flat, they piped up quickly to 12-15 mph. So we reefed both sails. The couples

Read More »
York tugboats

York tugboats

Up and down the York River, tugboats provide safe and secure transit for ships. The biggest clients are Navy warships, which usually take one and sometimes two tugs to push and prod into port at Yorktown Naval Weapons Station. The current is wicked, aggravated by the 2-foot tide. Moran Towing

Read More »
Sailors with Boating Friends

Sailors with Boating Friends

A couple from Northern Virginia left their teenagers at home for a one-day adventure to drive south and go sailing on the York River. Katie and Sam Mangrio are in real estate, so we got to talking about flipping houses. “We’ve only done that once,” Sam said cautiously. “A lot

Read More »
Sailing with Manufacturers

Sailing with Manufacturers

  Over the years, I’ve found that three things depress people about work: their boss, the commute, getting laid off. One of the intriguing things about work is people who actually manufacture something. There is something robust about Made In America, and it makes people proud. On a day blowing

Read More »
Scientist Relearns Sailing

Scientist Relearns Sailing

For those who are interested, I walk them through the dynamics of sailing. For those who aren’t, I just point them in the direction of a close reach and leave it at that so they can enjoy the adventure. Here we have a scientist relearning sailing. Kim Allan sent her

Read More »
American Revolutions

American Revolutions

Alan Taylor’s latest book, “American Revolutions: A Continental History, 1750-1802” strips away the rosy veneer of the Revolution to reveal a violent civil war followed by a fragile new nation. This excerpt captures the book’s main threads.  –Courtesy of the Museum of the American Revolution, Philadelphia “The revolution intensified trends already underway,

Read More »
Longshoreman Sailing

Longshoreman Sailing

There’s boating, and then there’s shipping. Dante and April Turner of Chesapeake went sailing on the York River to celebrate their first anniversary, complete with a picnic basket of wine and cheese. “I’m a longshoreman,” Dante said when I asked what he does. “We have three container terminals in Norfolk,

Read More »
The Perfect Sail

The Perfect Sail

A Minnesota couple on vacation in Williamsburg took their three children sailing on the York River. They asked about the perfect sail and as luck would have it, this was it. Jim Keane took the helm as an accomplished boater. “We don’t have boats,” he said. “Instead, we have boating

Read More »