Captain's Blog

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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Sailing Under the Bridge

Avoiding the Bridge

Kathy and Ed Raskay of Horsham, Pennsylvania, took their four fabulous daughters sailing on the York River, near Williamsburg, before everyone has to go back to school next month. They found it to be great excitement. People ask, “How do you avoid hitting the Coleman Bridge?” Ed recalled, “One time

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Boaters now Sailing an RV

Pam and Dennis Ard of Atlanta worked their way up and down the arc of boating by owning motorboats that were 30, 38 and finally 32 feet long. Today they are dedicated RVers, who went sailing on the York River near Williamsburg on an eastern seaboard trip to Charleston, Hilton

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Memories on the Water

Patti Clark took her family of grown children on a cruise along the York River during a week-long “staycation” in the summer of 2015. It included golf, water sports, shopping, dining and a massage. Sailing brings out the best in everyone and occasional memories of the water that are less

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Sailing to Surprise

Ashley Greer took her parents, who live in North Carolina, sailing for the first time as a surprise birthday present for her dad. He wondered if they might be going roller skating. Instead, they enjoyed a brisk cruise on the York River near Yorktown. Ashley is studying for her doctorate

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Sailing to Missouri

  Bruce Queen of metro Richmond took his daughter Marissa sailing near Williamsburg as a goodbye tour. She’s leaving Powhatan Plantation timeshare resort for Missouri where she has been promoted by Diamond Resorts to be run their timeshare in Branson, called Suites at Fall Creek. “Branson is like Atlantic City

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Sailing the Current

  It took me years to realize while sailing that once you cross the York River the current on the north side dissipates because it gets shallower. The river current and the tidal current combine in the middle of the river to form a wicked 3-4 mph lateral drag on

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Sailing to Expelled Territory

On a breezy, sunny day three couples who never met had the time of their lives sailing the York River. We extended the run for an hour to enjoy the challenge of achieving speed on the water under sail. Tom and Ann Cook of Fairfax, Virginia, were unusually intriguing because

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Sailing from Australia

My first Australian went sailing on the York River with his wife’s family. Sean Ironmonger said that one of the stereotypes is that Americans asked if he knew the late Steve Irwin, the crocodile hunter. “They can’t believe I never met him, so sometimes I just say, ‘Aye, we drink

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6 by 6 Sailing

Bachelorette Birthday Sail

On this day, the winds died down and clouds filled the air. Rain threatened off in the southeast. People ask, “Do you do birthday sails?” Mallory Beard took her friends and teammates from Hampton University out for her 20th birthday. Their volleyball team travels the country and plays 30 games

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Women and War during 1770s

The War of Independence took a toll on all it touched — men and women, Patriots and Loyalists. In this excerpt from John Ferling’s “Whirlwind: The American Revolution and the War That Won It,” he shows the trials and tribulations women faced during the long conflict. Reprinted from the Museum

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What’s that Ship?

Drivers along the Colonial Parkway and the York River can’t help but notice an unusual ship docked for months at the US Navy base Cheatham Annex. From afar, the blue hull and white deck resemble a cruise ship, but up close one can see multiple radars and other intel equipment

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Sailing with History

Art Burdick and his fiancé Robin Miller enjoyed a dynamic sail off Yorktown on a blustery and cloudy day that eventually calmed down into sunny and smooth. They’re getting married next week at Wren Chapel on the campus of the College of William and Mary, where he got his history

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Sailing Past Ghosts

  There’s the Ghost Fleet of reserve ships in the James River, down from hundreds of boats to around a dozen today. Then there are the ghosts of Williamsuburg, originally compiled in a book by the late L.B. Taylor Jr. He claimed to be agnostic about ghosts but went on

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Sailing Past History

I get asked, “Why did the colonists rebel in the 1770s?” While conveying the Battle of the Capes and the Siege of Yorktown to a group of six along the York River, Susan Jennaro got to talking about what a good job the interpreters do at Colonial Williamsburg. One thing

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Sailing to Work

Dayshva and Nathan Smith live in Northern Virginia, where they love their respective work despite long hours and extensive holiday schedules. She’s in retail with a fashion store at the original Tysons Corner while he’s a baker with a large bakery. While sailing near Williamsburg, Dayshva got off on an

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Sailing for Merit Badge

    Boys aren’t always the best on a sailboat, but Wendy and Rick Cehon’s were. They came from central Massachusetts for a vacation and went sailing along the York River on a beautiful morning. It turns out they’re scoutmasters. I showed them how one young man on an earlier

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