Sailing with the Air Force

Sailing with the Air Force

After Hurricane Matthew, it took two days for the winds to return to normal. Grace and Jim Christy live near the marina of Governor’s Land on the James River, and decided to see if the other river had any wind. It did. With Grace on the helm, we tacked down the York River eight times […]

Bow Riders

Zen on the Bow

  That’s the headline for this picture of relaxing on the bow, from the website Sailing Anarchy. I tried lesser variations, including a yoga mat cut to size. The best solution was simply three square cushions lashed to the deck so they won’t blow off. People enjoy sitting and relaxing on the bow because it’s […]

The sheer adventure of exciting sailing

Scouting the Carolinas for sailing

Nancy and Mark Clark of Leander, Texas, visited Williamsburg and took their first sail on a very brisk York River. Mild winds from the northeast got stronger as we ventured out toward the Chesapeake Bay. Whitecaps began to show at 10 mph, and the seas built to 3 feet as neared Goodwin Island. The couple […]

Sailing past a submarine

Sailing near Williamsburg

Two couples who’ve been married for decades celebrated their anniversaries by sailing past a submarine during their vacation to Williamsburg. Lisa Kuert surprised her husband Paul on their 35th. “I had no idea where she was taking me,” he said. “I had sandals on so I figured it couldn’t be too dangerous, like rock climbing.” […]

Sailing with the sheriff

Sailing with the sheriff

After five days of rain and otherwise bleak weather, we wound up sailing with the sheriff and his wife, with a delightful conversation. The skies finally cleared and the winds rose to near whitecaps on a beautiful late summer day Mary and Duke Donnelly came to Williamsburg on vacation from Bucks County PA, one of […]

Sailing from Annapolis to Florida

Sailing from Annapolis to Florida

I picked up a hitchhiker named John who was headed to an auto parts store. “I’m looking to fashion a gasket for my fuel pump. I found a leak in the line and have pumped the manual pump to death. It’s for an Atomic Four gasoline engine in my Catalina 27 that I sailed down […]