Sailing with Slugs
“I was a slug, I’ve ridden with slugs, and I’ve driven with slugs.” So claimed Steve Relitz as we sailed an adventure on the York River with his mother and siblings on the occasion of his brother Sam’s 27th birthday. Steve lives in Stafford County, just outside Fredericksburg, and commutes to Washington to work for […]
Sailing the Open Sea
Two wonderful ladies with exciting jobs went sailing on a serene afternoon along the York River. Chanda Ings celebrated her partner Janell Smith-Ings’ birthday, and Janell took it well. “Hooray, I’m 40!” she exclaimed from the bow. Janelle teaches dance for the Governor’s School in Norfolk and is an adjunct professor of dance at the […]
Girls’ weekend getaway
A unique idea for a girls’ weekend getaway is to go sailing. Many’s the time I’ve had pals show up spontaneously for three-hour afternoon sail. Mothers and daughters find sailing a bonding experience as well. Get out of the parking lot and on to the water. The Adventure Cruise is the most popular, offering a […]
12 Secrets to Ocean Sailing with Kids
Repeat customers are a joy because they were obviously pleased the adventure the first time. This time, two teachers from Central Virginia went sailing with a vengeance because he’s about to go to sea. And today was his birthday. Robert and Elizabeth Hale-MacKinnon teach eighth and fourth grade respectively at the Charlottesville Waldorf School, in the Montessori […]
Marine Corps birthday
The day after the U.S. Marine Corps birthday ball Nov. 10, Adam Taylor took his girlfriend Meg Barnes sailing on the York. He’s a second lieutenant who has completed OCS and is now at TBS at Quantico for his basic officer school. “The Basic School is in Virginia, so we were invited to the Marine […]
Sailing Down Memory Lane
Sailing on the York River brings back fond and funny cruises down Memory Lane. Sallie and Dave McLain took his parents and their daughter and her friend sailing on a beautiful fall afternoon that felt like late summer. It was Dave’s birthday present, so he ran the helm. Sallie recalled: “We were sailing at the family […]
Sailing in late fall
We combined a Lesson Cruise with an Event Cruise on a chilly fall morning that warmed as the sun rose. David Poling brought his son Mason to go over the four sail reaches that exploit the wind’s power. We zoomed down the York River on a 9 mph northeast wind that provided numerous opportunities to feel […]
Sailing down Memory Lane
Sailing on the York River brings back fond and funny cruises down Memory Lane. Sallie and Dave McLain took his parents and their daughter and her friend sailing on a beautiful fall afternoon that felt like late summer. It was Dave’s birthday present, so he ran the helm. Sallie recalled: “We were sailing at the family […]
Sailing past Busch Gardens
Every year Busch Gardens in Williamsburg ramps up in the fall for a massive theme of Hallow Scream. Before they went sailing on the York River, Tina Herald and Chris Lawrence were in the park the previous evening as the cast began to set up and rehearse. They regaled me with this: “All of sudden […]
Sailing the Great Lakes
The York River is pretty big and the Chesapeake Bay is large, but there is nothing like sailing the Great Lakes. They are veritable oceans. Mary and Mike Wlodarski were vacationing in Williamsburg from Naperville, Illinois, so they went sailing on the York with another couple to celebrate Mary’s birthday. Naturally he recalled harrowing sailing […]
Sailing with Racing Dogs
On a day of coincidental birthdays, we went sailing with racing dogs. Beverly Jackson of Baltimore took her husband Thomas out on an afternoon cruise along the York River. Michel Gauthier did likewise for his wife Valerie. The couple lives in the small village of Casselman in eastern Ontario. Valerie said, “We live on 47 […]
The Joy of Sailing
Wayne Frith brought his wife Jo and grown son Ian from Hopewell to Williamsburg to go sailing on the York River for his 20th birthday. Where they live, the James River is pretty tame for sailing. The idea was to show Ian the joy of sailing, but that proved difficult because the winds were so […]
Sailing to Experience
Three discrete groups enjoyed a mild day sailing to experience without the distractions of work. They enjoyed some family bonding, a surprise birthday sail, and a farewell adventure tour while deploying the big spinnaker sail. Robert Stevens brought his 14-year-old grandson Chris Metz from Fort Worth, Texas. Robert used to sail 40- and 44-foot sailboats […]
Best Sail of July
Three parties who had never met joined in on the best sail of July on a windy day along the York River. Donna and John Troy of Charlottesville came to Williamsburg to take their daughter Kerry sailing on her 21st birthday. Donna took the wheel and instinctively got it. “I took a sailing course in […]
Sailing to Experiment and to Celebrate
Nine eager visitors converged from all over America to experiment and to celebrate with a sailing adventure on the historic York River. Ann and Mark Swindell drove over from Virginia to celebrate their 27th anniversary. “We take a boat trip every year on our anniversary,” Ann said. “Last year we went out on the water to […]
Commemorative Sail
Every summer I take Nanci Bond and Ellen Janoncyzk out on a commemorative sail on the mutual day of their late husbands’ birthday. They were both named Bob. On a virtually still day with the York River like glass, we motored over to the other side of the river and all the way out to Tue […]
Sailing Under the Bridge
Traffic picked up on the York River once the winds came up for the first time in a week. That led Tom Rose to say, “I had to avoid swerving cars three times in the past week because they we’re texting behind the wheel.” No such danger threatened his crew of six who went sailing […]
Naval Observatory
Every ten days or so a Navy ship cruises up the York River. It’s usually headed to the Naval Weapons Station at Yorktown. At least once a month I wind up taking a Navy service member or retiree sailing. This was a twofer, with the SS Cornhusker passing by while a seven-year Navy electrician was […]