Air Force OneEvery other Thursday, Air Force One flies low over the York River to nearby Langley Air Force Base for a touch-and-go landing as a drill, and then returns to Washington by a different route. I was explaining this to a couple out sailing the river when lo and behold Air Force One swooped in a northwest path across the river at a high altitude. This time it was escorted by four fighter jets in a diamond formation, suggesting the real thing. CNN reported later that President Obama was on his way to South Dakota to speak. It was his 50th state as President.

More from the Captain...

Nautical Chaos

Nautical Chaos

Dozens of deadrises and hundreds of observers on land and sea mingled during the annual Battle of the Boats off Riverwalk Landing. It was hard to determine who won after several heats. The next day offered a unique contest to see how fast a deadrise can go in reverse while

Full Story >
Big Winds, Big Noise by Navy

Big Winds & Big Noise by Navy

I’m sometimes asked, “What’s it like to sail in big winds?” Adventurous, but the winds come and go. On this day, big winds for days suddenly calmed by the time Debbie Kremer of Arizona brought her beau Bob Wickley of San Antonio to sail the York River. We quietly tacked

Full Story >
Furler Genius

Furler Genius

In only six hours, Glenn Bates and Evan Harrell of Performance Rigging in Hampton replaced my 25-year-old jib furler by linking the topping lift atop the mast to the anchor chainplate to remove the old rig and install the new one. That saved $1,000 and a full day of labor

Full Story >