Happy Birthday Sail
People ask, “Does sailing make a good birthday gift?” Every year, Chris and Marty McCurry of Spruce Pine NC try to do something special on their son’s birthday. This week John Caleb McCurry got an up-close look at US Navy submarine barreling up the York River to the Naval Weapons Station. We were sailing near […]
Sailing to Jamestown
People ask, “Is Jamestown worth visiting?” “Emma’s third-grade teacher led us to go to Historic Jamestowne, with her enthusiasm for the nation’s founding,” said Christine Erickson as her four children scampered about the boat while sailing the York River. Unbeknownst to them, Jamestown and Colonial Williamsburg have invested heavily to bring educators here from every […]
Sailing from Iowa
Paul and Linda Johnson brought their children east from New Hartford IA to tour American history at Jamestown, Williamsburg and Yorktown. They always wanted to sail, which they did splendidly on a brisk day along the York River where everyone got a turn at the helm. In their spare time, the family performs as The […]
Adrenalin Rush Sailing
People ask, “Is sailing inspirational?” Sailing can be downright inspirational. Donna Schmoyer’s son is a Pennsylvania state trooper who happened on a stalled van one frigid snowy night, stranded on the shoulder of Interstate 81. While assisting, he noticed a Mustang sliding directly their way on the ice and shouted for everyone to run. As […]
Midwestern Ingenuity
Boating builds self-confidence, among other things. Mike Ahfield of Birdseye, Indiana, related to me while sailing the other day how he helped perform an unusual rescue. Worse, he and his brother and nephew were out on a rickety Jon boat when the transom began to depart from the top of the stern. The weighty outboard […]
Made in America
Some amazing people enjoy sailing when they aren’t saving society. Megan Key and Justin Gerner enjoyed sailing the York River on a warm fall day as they prepare for their wedding. Years ago, Megan’s grandfather and uncle complained about poor service at their VA hospital. One day she accompanied a second uncle to the VA […]
Living the Dream
Living the Dream Debbie and Kevin Weber of Appleton, Wisconsin, are immensely proud of their two grown boys. Ryan is a portfolio manager in Madison, and Kyle operates charter boats at a renowned fishing resort near the Minnesota border with Canada. Kyle knows where the fish are and how to negotiate the tricky Customs procedures […]
Sailing with Seatbelts
People ask, “Do you learn about other stuff while sailing?” Cathy and Ron Johnson tacked out the York River and sailed on the spinnaker all the way back. He worked 38 years with International Harvester, which once had huge market share for building school buses. So why don’t they have seat belts? (1) Bus seats […]
Key Sailors
People ask, “Is it hard to fly a spinnaker?” Aron and Caryn Arias took their boys sailing on the York and helped deploy the colorful spinnaker on the bow for running downwind. Aron and Ben (right) have sailed with Boy Scouts in the Florida Keys. Alex ran the helm as Ben raised the spinnaker. The […]
