Sub Exits York
Two couples and a solo sailor chased a Navy submarine for much of the afternoon. It was overcast and still, so we motored under the Coleman Bridge to the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station so they could see a sub in port. It was the third time this season that a sub arrived, which is very […]
Let’s Stop This Sailing Feud
At least once a week on the water, I’m asked about the feud between sailboats and motorboats. Do we resent their speed, arrogance, lack of manners, close calls, big wakes, loud music, etc.? Actually, no, because while motorboats certainly go faster, their owners are relatively humble, quite polite, deferential, and observant of the mariner Rules […]
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 […]
Fast Pitch Sails Past
Kristi Olsen and a contingent of York County tourism officials sailed one day last summer. Brian Fuller of York Parks & Rec reported that 147 teams from 16 states were here for the Girls Class B World Series of Fast Pitch Softball. They’re playing on fields across York, James City and Williamsburg. Top pitchers can […]
Sail a Tall Ship
People ask, “Do you get much repeat business?” Jim and Jo Ann Giesen of Ford’s Colony made a return voyage from last year, bringing with them their son Mike and new bride Jess. Mike had no problem on deck casting off. “I sailed on the US Brig Niagara,” he said. “It’s a warship made to […]
Santa Maria at Yorktown
People ask, “Do you ever see tall ships?” A replica ship of Christopher Columbus’s fleet pulled into Yorktown for Memorial Day Weekend. The Nao Santa Maria set sail in 2017 to mark the 525th anniversary of the original discovery of America in 1492. The 200-ton, three-masted ship blew in this week from Wilmington NC. Skip […]
Dolphins!
People ask, “Do you ever see dolphins while sailing?” For the first time this year, we saw dolphins in May in the York River. Two couples from New Jersey and Tennessee got up close as the dolphins zoomed in the wake of the sailboat while cruising the York River. Art Ford spotted two of them […]
Submarine!
People ask, “Do you ever see submarines?” Kathy and Dan Clodfelter of Newburgh IN went sailing on a bright sunny day along the York River, where they got to see a US Navy sub up close. Kathy had taken sailing lessons in college years ago and wondered if she could still do it. She got […]
Sailing in May
People ask, “Do the winds pick up during the day?” A Yorktown couple took her parents and other family members sailing on a light day that turned into 15 mph gusts. They loved it. They had gathered for the graduation of John Bednarek from the College of William & Mary this weekend. Julie Bednarek’s folks […]
Sailing Yorktown
People ask, “What’s the deal with pirates?” Pirates prevailed at Yorktown on Saturday as the Schooner Virginia and RV Virginia sailed into port. The 122-foot schooner went bankrupt years ago and was revived by the Nauticus Foundation, home-ported there in Norfolk. The big white Virginia was just christened as the newest research vessel by VIMS, […]
