Sailing with the authorities
What could be more fun than sailing with the authorities, namely police and prosecutors? Trish and Joe Froelich joined Jean and Art Hall for an afternoon of smooth sailing on the York River in rising breezes. Once out of the channel and on the water, Trish was confronted by her childhood. “When I was a […]
Sail with a Captain
Guests who hire skippered boats need to beware unscrupulous boat captains, which is to say those who are not accredited by the US Coast Guard. The following well-written scenario is from the USCG Office of Investigations and Casualty Analysis in a new safety alert dated June 9. It was forwarded by the Chesapeake Bay Professional […]
She said yes on the bow of the boat
Reggie Holmes took his girlfriend Lea Diggs sailing on the York River to propose marriage, and she said yes on the bow of the boat. The plan was to bring two couples along to witness the occasion. We sailed for an hour, exchanging stories and moving about the boat. The other couples liked the idea […]
Sailing with Sturgeon
The Hasz family was fully aware of the need for lifejackets because the waters of the York River are still cold. Tamara and Eric Hasz were in Williamsburg from Northern Wisconsin, where they live near Lake Winnebago. “It’s 30 miles long and 10 miles wide, but only 15 feet deep,” Eric said. They took their […]
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 […]
Fear of Boating
“My wife insisted that I wear a life preserver. She is fearful of the water. Her family was not of the water and she’s just not comfortable.” Chuck Armstrong of Richmond was explaining why he showed up alone to sail the York River on a late summer afternoon. As the winds caused the boat to […]
Got to Be On the Water
Every day we see three or four Coast Guard boats buzzing around the York River, but that’s only the tip of the fleet. Meet the captain. “We have 25 boats of various sizes and rates training all over Hampton Roads,” said Patrick Hogan, Boatswain 2nd Class from the Yorktown Coast Guard Training Center. He was […]
Recounting Navy Sails
Ed Jones Jr. of Williamsburg took his family to Water Country as the summer heat began to fade. But first he sent his mom and dad to go sailing on the York River on a calm and sunny day. That seemed like a fun thing to do while on vacation, and less stress than a […]
Summer Wedding on York River
Jody Longstreet and Ed Hollin rode his Harley from central Indiana to Williamsburg for their summer wedding on the York River. “It was 700 miles,” he recalled, “our longest trip ever. We came through pouring rain. We saw the storm and tried to wait. Once we got in the mountains, the rain cut loose something […]
Another Horror Story
Here’s another horror story, recalled fondly by Faith Olen of Lynchburg. We were sailing past the Coast Guard Training Center dock, which triggered her memory. “My father used to take me out on his old wooden boat along the Potomac River. It was a motorboat with two big honking diesels. We were downriver in Maryland […]
