She Said Yes While Sailing
Sometimes I get asked, “Do men propose to women on the boat?” Yes indeed. Brent Russell surprised his girlfriend Andrea Lefont with a sailing cruise on the York River, where he proposed marriage on the bow. She was stunned. He and I had arranged it so that we would sail downriver in brisk seas […]
Marry Me? Yes!
People often ask, “Can I get married on a boat?” You bet. Ziquine Hopkins and Crystal Dorsy went on an evening cruise along the York where he proposed to her on the bow of the sailboat. She was totally surprised and slightly astonished that Zi had already told her family. The couple enjoyed a catered […]
Sailing Summer’s End
People ask, “Is Labor Day Weekend busy on the river?” Too busy for me, as a professional mariner. Labor Day weekend brought us to sailing summer’s end. It came complete with all kinds of amateur motorboaters who consistently drove across my bow, sometimes too close. While I lament that so few boats are on the […]
Zen on the Bow
“The great thing about [horse] racing is she can get deeply immersed for two or three hours at a stretch. And it is completely different from her everyday work—a switch-out from what is going on in the world that is worrying or unhappy,” said Michael Osmond. “One of her private secretaries told me it has […]
Bachelorette Party
How are men and women different? Men prefer to hold a bachelor party on a motorboat while women prefer a sailboat for a bachelorette party. The reasons are simple. Men like boats that go fast, make noise and stink. What better place to enjoy your last night of freedom than on a motorboat? Women enjoy […]
Anniversary Cruise
After a rainout one afternoon, a couple from Hampton went out for an evening sailing cruise to celebrate their anniversary. Kelly Anderson is in the Air Force at nearby Langley Air Force Base, where she works on the ground with the planes. Keisha Pexton is director of training at Newport News Shipbuilding. Keisha said, “I […]
Honeymoon Cruise
A newly married Pennsylvania couple in Williamsburg enjoyed a honeymoon cruise on a warm sunny day on the York River. Madison Lohr works in daycare in New Castle, where she prefers tykes over older children. Mark Mikolhoff works two jobs. “I’m a chef at Chuck Tanner’s Restaurant in New Castle, named for the Cleveland Indian […]
Top Speed
Note: Sailing charters resume in Virginia on June 10 when the lockdown is lifted. Longtime student and friend Corinna Caldwell joined a couple from Connecticut on perhaps the last day of summer as a cold front moved in for autumn. They had a day of sailing at top speed. Bob and Gail Sokolowski were in […]
Learning to Sail
A Richmond area couple drove down to the York River to learn how to sail. Kate Riley sailed a Sunfish once and wanted to try a bigger boat. She got the full experience in a steady breeze of 10 mph that enabled us to sail under the Coleman Bridge to see the Navy submarine still […]
Sailing on Megatankers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEhCvR43nh8 Here is the ultimate boat rental: Hundreds of millions of tons of cargo shipped by a mega-tanker under sail. Massive sails. It’s part of a long-term effort to improve “rigid wing wind” transportation by ship. An earlier blog showed that in terms of fuel consumed per ton-mile, a tugboat moving a barge is 2.5 […]
