Who Goes Sailing
“It’s remarkable how quickly a good and favorable wind can sweep away the maddening frustrations of shore living.” – Ernest K. Gann Those who cruise with Let’s Go Sail on the York River cross all demographics, but they tend to skew more affluent. They are slightly overweight but never obese, and they have some college […]
Sailing Under the Bridge
Although it’s taken for granted by locals, the Coleman Bridge is a spectacular piece of engineering and a vital link between two regions of eastern Virginia. It’s an adventure to go sailing under the bridge. After the boom years of World War II, it became apparent the ferry from Yorktown to Gloucester Point would be […]
Ships of the York
You can go for days without seeing another boat on the York River. Then they show up in multitudes, seemingly for no reason. In fact, there is a cycle to the boating and shipping traffic. Here’s a rundown of the range of boats and ships along the York River. Next, a unique factoid is […]
Sail Past Navy Ships
Nearly every week, except during the holidays, we sail past Navy ships as they ply the York River to and from Yorktown Naval Weapons Station. They arrive usually on Monday around noon and depart Thursday or Friday morning. These ships are magnificent to see coming over the eastern horizon from Norfolk Naval Base. I […]
Sailing into History
A young man from Prescott AZ (grew up in Baltimore) brought his wife to Williamsburg for an annual trip they’ve done for years. They wanted the History Cruise, so I dove deeply in the 1781 Battle of the Capes and the Siege of Yorktown that effectively ended the Revolutionary War. They had some history of […]
Sailing & Fishing
There are two kinds of boating that are mutually discrete: Sailing & Fishing. I refer people all the time to my colleagues at York River Yacht Haven who offer fishing charters. But occasionally someone will ask if they can try fishing off the back of the boat. It’s tricky because we run the risk of […]
The Oil Scoop
A Richmond family drove down to get away from the lockdown and the George Floyd protest violence to enjoy a quiet and picturesque day on the York River. They enjoyied a big day of sailing and got the oil scoop on barges. Faika Zanjani is a professor at VCU specializing in bacterial issues, but we […]
Splash into Season 8
After a week of refurbishing at the yard of York River Yacht Haven, Let’s Go Sail returned to the waters of the York River with a Splash into Season 8. The work consisted of three things that can only be done on the hards: wax the hull, paint the prop, paint the bottom. The work […]
New Look at Old Shipwrecks
UPDATE: Sept. 20, 2020: News Release by JRS Explorations Survey of New Wreck Completed During Sept. 13-18, 2020, JRS Explorations Inc. conducted an extensive shipwreck survey within the Yorktown Shipwrecks National Register District, thanks to the efforts of experienced researchers. The goals were to survey and map “Wreck 11,” a recently discovered wreck in the […]
Read about Tacky’s Revolt
The British brought 2,000 “free” slaves to Yorktown in 1781. Then they left them to fend for themselves in no-man’s land. Years earlier, slaves revolted with great consequences. Harvard historian Vincent Brown’s latest book is Tacky’s Revolt: The Story of an Atlantic Slave War.” It tells the story of the largest slave revolt 1760–61). He […]
