Captain's Blog

Extreme Sailing

Three days of rain on the York drove nearly everyone off the river. On the other side of the world, eight international teams raced in St. Petersburg, Russia for the sixth stop on the 2015 Extreme Sailing Series™ eight Act global tour. After four days of racing in the heart

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Immigration Waters

If you think immigration reform is controversial in America, try Canada. Susan McBride Friesen is a lawyer/lobbyist for the Canadian mushroom industry, and she regaled us while sailing with her husband Larry and his brother and wife. “Canada allows visiting immigrants to stay five years legally, and then they have

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Mayday on the York

While taking two couples from Richmond sailing in the afternoon on the York River, we heard a mayday emergency call. It was a motorboat taking on water. As other boats came to assist, we learned that the water had submerged the engine halfway and killed it. Eventually the York County

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Battle of 1813

Tom and Veronica Friesen of Windsor, Ontario, went sailing on a history cruise of the York River with his brother Larry and wife Susan, where they regaled us with their participation in the bicentennial of the Battle of 1813 on Lake Erie. “It was a huge rendezvous of tall ships

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Sailing their Careers

Two dynamic couples visiting Williamsburg from Greensboro took a short sailing vacation on the York River. Having never been on a sailboat before, they did a fabulous job running the rig, raising the spinnaker, and conducting a man overboard exercise to rescue a hat—my hat actually. We saw a half

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Sailing to a New Future

Many people retire to Williamsburg, but few try to develop a new future by relocating their jobs here. Meet Heather and Michael Savage of Morris Plains, New Jersey. She’s looking to transfer her position with a timeshare company and he’s looking to move his chef career as well. While sailing

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The Gunpowder Incident

We take a short vacation from sailing to report on the history of the Gunpowder Incident, courtesy of the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, from which this is reprinted. The Revolutionary era’s newspapers are rich with stories that inspired the American Revolution. In Reporting the Revolutionary War, Todd

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Sailing with a Grasshopper

While sailing off Yorktown and listening to the history of the Battle of the Capes, Paula and Eric Spalding recalled the story of the grasshopper vane atop Faneuil Hall in Boston. The website celebrateboston.com picks up the story: “The gilded grasshopper atop Faneuil Hall has an interesting history. Shem Drowne

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Sailing to College

Sue Jennings and Cindi Love picked up where they were years ago when they went sailing in the British Virgin Islands. They chose a blustery day on the York River, which afforded sufficient excitement to nearly put the rail in the water. They loved it. Cindi is an executive in

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The Other Soaring

Anne and Mark Richards of College Station, Texas, went soaring on the York River near Williamsburg, and he was intrigued by the aerodynamics of the sail plan. “I fly a Piper Cub. It costs around $140 an hour to rent and I do it for enjoyment. It takes 40 to

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Sailing & Shopping

Jay and Jill Vanek went sailing near Williamsburg with light winds that picked up in the afternoon. Jill works in PR communications for QVC Television, where trends have changed over the years. “Jewelry used to be the big seller but the price of gold got too high. Today electronics and

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Sailing with Basketball

While sailing near Williamsburg with Elizabeth and Chris Pack of Cincinnati, he turned out to be a big Kentucky fan. I asked why they’re so good in basketball but not so much in football. “One Christmas, Bear Bryant was given a fountain pen and Adolph Rupp was given a Cadillac.

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The Zen of the Great Outdoors

Here’s what the Zen of the Great Outdoors can do for you. Amy and Jeff Guyer look like newlyweds but have been married 25 years. They spent nine years in Alaska and enjoyed it all. Now they’re taking lessons to learn how to sail. “We were in Anchorage, where the

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Flying to Sail

You would think airline pilots would be blasé about sailing since it’s not nearly so fast. But relatively speaking, it is. That’s what Bob Woods of suburban Roanoke found as he took his wife Lisa and their son and his cousin sailing on the York River on a rare blustery

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Sailing to British History

A family from York, England, enjoyed sailing on the York River off Yorktown while recalling the derivation of our county and river as a function of British history. Linda and Allastair Jackson live in York and were visiting here with their son Will. “The Celtics were first in England, followed

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Soaring to Sail, Williamsburg Charter Sails

Wedding Under Sail

I get asked a lot, “Do you do weddings on board?” Brandon Marks wanted to surprise his fiancé Addie Misnier with a unique wedding venue. She always wanted to go sailing, so he chose the waters of the York River. The ceremony was performed by Pastor Chris and witnessed by

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Sailing Past William & Mary

Dan and Catherine Marino of Chatham NJ took their family sailing near Williamsburg before their older daughter Juliana toured the College of William & Mary. She’s looking at the club sailing team, having developed experience on 420s with her sister Marisa. We sailed past the Marine Science School of William

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Best of Both Sailing Worlds

They say every man should have five sailboats for the range of his excursions in life. Mark Muldowney took family members sailing on the York River from their Pennsylvania and New Jersey roots, where he described his two lives. “I belong to the Philadelphia Yacht Club, a prestigious name that

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Special Ed Sailing

My streak of special ed teachers continued this summer with a 25-year-old in her third year teaching in the Bronx. Meghan Warager went sailing with her parents on the York River and insisted that her school is not in the “war zone” of South Bronx but closer to the Whitestone

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The Hessian Perspective

Condensed from the Museum of the American Revolution, Philadelphia The British Crown hired soldiers from six separate “German” states to fight alongside British forces during the War of Independence. In Hessians: Mercenaries, Rebels, and the War for British North America, author Brady J. Crytzer provides a look at the conflict

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