Bought a Boat!
Virginia reopened for sailing and fishing charters May 15. Let’s Go Sail adheress to an approved regimen for COVID-19 protocols. While opening Let’s Go Sail one morning, a fellow stopped by the dock to hail me. “Capt. Bill!” said James Owen. “Remember me? Around a year ago my wife and I sailed with you. We […]
Go Fish in the York
As a professional mariner, I regret to report I don’t know much about fish. Growing up, my mother served a lot of TV dinners. I thought fish sticks peculiar because I couldn’t understand how they could swim efficiently. When I secured my USCG captain’s license, I had to jump through 49 certifications for the […]
Sailing Annapolis
On an annual Christmas stopover before St. Michaels, we walked around the port of Annapolis to check out boats and boat names as if we were Sailing Annapolis. The imagination runs wild. Across from town, Eastport formed its own “island nation” and there is where many of these boats are berthed. They recently celebrated 150 […]
Levittown Reunion
People ask, “Do you do reunions?” Four guys who grew up together on Long Island went sailing on the York and took one of their nephews along. They had a great adventure on the water in rising winds as we headed out toward the Chesapeake Bay. They rotated on the helm and were quick studies […]
Lessons Learned for Advanced Sailors
Over the course of decades, Let’s Go Sail has owned six sailboats to navigate the waters of the James River, York River, Mobjack Bay and Chesapeake Bay. Many wonderful days have been aggravated by a relatively few days of minor problems. For those buying a sailboat or otherwise getting into the sport seriously, one humbly […]
Relearn How to Sail
People ask, “I used to sail, can you teach me again?” A couple from Charlottesville and a family from Pittsburgh went sailing on the York River to relearn their skills. Sebastian Kukla and Erik Fernandez hadn’t sailed since their college days, but they got the hang of it quickly in winds of 10 mph rising […]
Connecticut Sailors
People ask, “Are there things you don’t talk about onboard?” A family from Newtown CT took a sailing adventure along the York River on a sparkling spring afternoon. I didn’t mention the recent tragedy Sandy Hook Elementary. “We sailed once before,” Chris Whorf mentioned brightly of he and his wife Maria Arnoldy. “It was a […]
How Do They Get on the Sailboat?
This ridiculous picture is from Willoughby Harbor Marina in Norfolk. The place has seen better days, having been battered by a few hurricanes and numerous nor’easters over the years. The photo lends new meaning to the term boat slip. I teach at Willoughby for the American Sailing Association, and their two boats are docked at […]
Correcting 6 Myths About Sailing
HARD TO LEARN—This is a hardy chestnut promoted by motorboat dudes, for whom heavy lifting comprises a case of beer. In fact, sailing is easy to learn because the principals are fairly straightforward. Once you realize how the wind affects the sail, it seems quite logical. There is a certain intellectual challenge to sailing, but […]
Sail Annapolis
On the way to St. Michael’s, we stopped off in Annapolis to check on the Back Creek side of town. Annapolis bills itself as America’s Sailing Capital with a tradition of centuries behind it. Everywhere you turn, nautical terms and the boats they refer to are found all over town. Across the bridge downtown lies […]
