Special Ed Sailing
My streak of special ed teachers continued this summer with a 25-year-old in her third year teaching in the Bronx. Meghan Warager went sailing with her parents on the York River and insisted that her school is not in the “war zone” of South Bronx but closer to the Whitestone Bridge. She teaches the very […]
Memories on the Water
Patti Clark took her family of grown children on a cruise along the York River during a week-long “staycation” in the summer of 2015. It included golf, water sports, shopping, dining and a massage. Sailing brings out the best in everyone and occasional memories of the water that are less than great. People ask, “Do […]
Sailing to Expelled Territory
On a breezy, sunny day three couples who never met had the time of their lives sailing the York River. We extended the run for an hour to enjoy the challenge of achieving speed on the water under sail. Tom and Ann Cook of Fairfax, Virginia, were unusually intriguing because he’s an accomplished sailor and […]
Sailing for Merit Badge
Boys aren’t always the best on a sailboat, but Wendy and Rick Cehon’s were. They came from central Massachusetts for a vacation and went sailing along the York River on a beautiful morning. It turns out they’re scoutmasters. I showed them how one young man on an earlier cruise couldn’t pull a simple […]
Sailing to Special Ed
Teachers who work in Special Ed are in a class by themselves. Thelma Ivie of Bartlesville, Oklahoma, has been at it 20 years, most recently across the border in a Kansas school district. We talked about her work while sailing near Williamsburg. A chronic problem I’ve heard over the years isn’t about the students, but […]
Sailing to Certification
Too many teens come out of high school and go to college reluctantly, only to find themselves stuck in an academic rut. One alternative is technical school for specialized certification, and that’s what Spencer and Max Gazda are on track for. They joined their parents, Derek and Tina Gazda, on a sailing excursion near Williamsburg. […]
Sailing to Success
Two couples from New York City quit their jobs in fashion, corporate, nursing and teaching to find success in a group home setting in Washington, DC. Charrisse and Mark Ifill and his brother Mike Ifill and his wife Khardieita related their collective experience while sailing on the York River near Williamsburg with their small children. […]
Warship Sails Past
The Coleman Bridge swung both spans open for the warship USS John S. McCain as it sailed past Yorktown on the York River. Jonathan and Zack Barringer joined the rest of their family observing the exercise as the ship proceeded from the Norfolk Naval Base to the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station. Their dad Jeffrey noted […]
First Hot Shot
Early during the Siege of Yorktown in October 1781 the French got the bold idea of heating solid cannonballs red hot and firing them at a ship. They succeeded by arcing at least three balls a mile away toward the HMS Charon, the 44-gun lead ship of Lord Cornwallis, anchored in front of what is […]
Sailing Blind
By sheer coincidence, we had two sight-impaired ladies onboard among three couples. One of them was Brenda-Ann Gillis. She ran a summer program for blind children on Florida’s Indian River. “The ages ranged from 9 or 10 up to 16. Their sighted siblings were included as part of the group, to help teach them how […]
