Stephanie King stopped off in Williamsburg from North Carolina on her way to Alexandria to take her two children sailing.
“It’s the first time he’s been on a boat since the accident last year. He was evacuated from the water and spent five days in ICU,” she said of her son Alek. “A big motorboat was going too fast and shot a big wake that threw his jet ski into the air and crashing on a dock.”
Alek and his mom did fine on the helm, although he seemed a bit reluctant. Early on, we had to let a motorboat pass our bow in the marina, and I could sense a deju vu moment for him. His sister Natasha proved highly adept on the wheel, and I asked if she was a musician.”
“She’s a violinist, actually,” Stephanie said proudly. “She just got back from music camp where she had to learn the music for two symphonies in only a week. She plays second violin, and we’re hoping for a music scholarship to college.”
Back to boating. “We have a jet ski boat—not a jet ski but a boat strong enough to take water skiers. I can run up to 45 miles an hour. I got it from salvage and live near a factory where people I know rebuilt the boat. That was 20 years ago. Cost me about $2,000 and I could still sell it for $4,000. I’ve had the engine rebuilt three times. Mine is a good boating story, perhaps the best.”
I showed them how to read the ripples on the water as wind. “How cool,” Stephanie said. “We’ve always wondered how you do that.” They all got a turn on the helm and found the wind with experience. It was quite an experience in the great outdoors, a passion of Stepahanie’s.
We encountered a light rain that followed a rolling thunder, and then the sun came out. No one was fazed. A classic 1930s Chris Craft passed us on the way back to York River Yacht Haven. Even the deck chairs are original to the boat.
Let’s Go Sail
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