Toy Boat at Sea
A toy boat launched in the Atlantic Ocean by South Carolina school students has reached the coast of Wales, after a stopover in Bermuda. The Royal Gazette reports that the Carolina Dreamer was built by the St. Andrew’s School of Math & Science in Charleston and fitted with a GPS tracker. The little vessel went […]
Black Patriots and Loyalists
In 1781 the First Rhode Island Regiment fought successfully at the Battle of Yorktown. Alan Gilbert’s new book, “Black Patriots and Loyalists: Fighting for Emancipation in the War for Independence,” shows how the promise of freedom drew enslaved blacks into the Continental Army and the British Army during the Revolutionary War. Gilbert raises significantly […]
Family Sailboat Trip in Virginia
When visitors to Williamsburg are looking for a family sailboat trip in Virginia, my charter often pops up on the Internet. Aside from the fun of sailing, I take photos under way and back at dockside to document the adventure. Sometimes these are the only photos of the entire family taken on vacation, so it […]
The Dream of Owning a Sailboat
Virtually everyone I take cruising along the York River on their charter outing is fascinated by the sport of sailing. Some express the dream of owning a sailboat one day. A few have done it, with no regrets. Yet sailing isn’t all that expensive when compared to other sports. Columnist Nick Hayes in the February […]
Sailing in Charlotte Harbor
Bonnie and I toured South Florida off the Gulf of Mexico to pursue charter and teaching opportunities. We sent sailing in Charlotte Harbor and fell upon Let’s Go Sailing Englewood, which closely resembles my brand Let’s Go Sail Williamsburg. This excursion was the highlight of our ten-day trip. Capt. Levi provided us a low-key, superior sail […]
Lessons Learned
Here are six lessons learned while sailing this summer. WEATHER – So many people, especially out West and in the Midwest, have suffered incalculable psychic and monetary damage from floods, drought, wildfires, snow and bitter, bitter cold in recent years. We have it easy here in Williamsburg and throughout Tidewater Virginia. SPORTS –namely the NFL– […]
November Sail
Ivan Levy made a return trip for a November sail on the York River, this time with his friend Alena who’s a bartender at Bailey’s in Patrick Henry Mall. She’s from Belarus in the former Soviet Union and speaks perfect English. “I always wanted to live in America,” she said proudly. In brisk winds gusting to […]
Sailing is Better than Golf
Before addressing why sailing is better than golf, another distinction is appropriate. I can often tell if a person plays golf, as opposed to tennis. Golfer have better hands and appreciate the effect that the wind has on their game. Tennis players power through the shot and ignore the wind since it has only a […]
Sail Class Crescendo
The 16th fall sail class by the Williamsburg Area Learning Tree reached a crescendo Nov. 8 with a straight run out the York River to the edge of the Chesapeake Bay, just south of Mobjack Bay and within sight of Newpoint Comfort. On the return leg, we used a northeast wind of 10-15 mph and […]
Sailing is like Golf
Sailing is like golf in myriad ways. Here are a few. You can meditate while exercising mildly. The wind matters. For racers and golfers, handicap scoring levels the playing field. Three to four hours is plenty of diversion. You can cherish the silence of nature. A cold beer tastes great afterward. You can enjoy the […]
Sailing without Grandchildren
Two couples in their 50s from Southern California went sailing near Williamsburg on a beautiful fall afternoon with an astonishing statistic between them. Patty and Chris Davis have five grandchildren while their friends Sabrina and Dave have ten. “That’s 15 of them, up to age 18,” Sabrina said. “They all live nearby, so we don’t […]
Sail to Weather
We found out what it’s like to sail to weather. For the 16th year, the fall class of the Williamsburg Area Learning Tree assembled for the three-day “Adventures in Sailing” class. Among the returning alumni is David “Ned” Neidlinger whose career in the Air Force included intensive weather work and data collection. High up in the […]
Diverse Sailors
Three couples spanning generations from different parts of the country formed diverse sailors on the York River this week. Corinne Casey is an optometrist and Brian Kanhofer is a computer engineer. They drove down from Baltimore and rented a cabin on the York. “It seemed so much more rustic than a hotel in Williamsburg,” Brian said.
Sailing to Citizenship
Among all the people to sail with Williamsburg Charter Sails this season, I finally encountered my first naturalized American. It was like sailing to citizenship. Ivan Levy is a Panamanian who grew up in Miami and elsewhere as his parents moved around with the military. He served eight years in the U.S. Marines and is now a […]
Historic Halloween
If you suspend the disbelief that there was no Halloween in Williamsburg during the 1770s, you will find the presentation by Colonial Williamsburg in the Revolutionary City quadrant of the Historic Area to be quite compelling. Welcome to “A Haunting on DoG Street: Blackbeard’s Revenge.” It’s designed to draw in more families to a wider, more […]
Sitting in the Catbird Seat
One joyful surprise of a charter sail is the unique experience sitting in the catbird seat on boat of 30 feet or longer. The concept was pioneered by Hunter Sailboats in the early 1980s as twin “stern perch” seats on the aft rail, but the term catbird quickly eclipsed that. Catalina Sailboats and Beneteau Sailboats […]
Runaway Slaves
Runaway slaves found themselves in an unusual situation during the American Revolution. The new republic touted liberty and freedom, but this did not extend to all members of society. If they escaped the plantation they could gain their freedom from the British, and that factored into Williamsburg and Yorktown. In her new book, “Epic Journeys to […]
Sailing vs. Powerboating
The first thing that people discover about charter sails vs. powerboating is how quiet sailing is. Once the engine is cut off, the sound of silence is distinct. Women notice it first and appreciate it better than men. Everyone begins to hear the waves lapping as the sailboat glides through water. When birds are close, […]
Sailing through Life
The emotional pull of sailing leads to all kinds of analogies and metaphors about life. The very Zen of the experience has inspired numerous posters and bumper stickers. Here’s a unique twist in a video with Oprah Winfrey by Episcopal priest Barbara Brown Taylor, a professor of religion at Piedmont College in north Georgia. “I think we’d […]
Sailing Trifecta of Cool Sights
Three couples from West Virginia, Illinois and Texas nearly hit the Sailing Trifecta of Cool Sights on the York River. They had never met before and had a fun time on a beautiful fall afternoon. First, they got to see a small pod of dolphins frolicking in front of Sara Creek. Two and then three dolphins romped […]