Sailing with FDR
Before Jack Kennedy made sailing glamorous, Franklin Delano Roosevelt enjoyed it as an elegant pastime. His uncle John Roosevelt was a noted sailor who developed a large ice sailboat to run up and down the Hudson River from the family estate at Hyde Park. It was so fast that he could outrun trains along the […]
Washington’s Spies
The Siege of Yorktown had everything: Cannon fire, sea battles, death, destruction, sickness, victory— and spies. So it’s odd when people ask, “Was Yorktown important?” In the summer of 1778, George Washington authorized the formation of a secret chain of agents known as the Culper Ring to operate in British-occupied New York. The following excerpt from […]
Sailing into Yorktown History
The Museum of the American Revolution, opening in Philadelphia next year, has partnered with the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution on an ambitious artistic endeavor. The DAR will underwrite the framing and installation of a hand-painted copy of the Siege of Yorktown (1781), the subject of an optional 20-minute talk for guests on board Williamsburg Charter Sails. […]
Sailing Home
Five decades removed from where I grew up, we ventured back to go sailing home. Bonnie and I met our younger daughter Wendy in New York for three days of touring that included a day in the suburbs of Westchester. Wendy was in town from Denver to deliver a talk to the Queens Dental Society, […]
Black Patriots and Loyalists
In 1781 the First Rhode Island Regiment fought successfully at the Battle of Yorktown. Alan Gilbert’s new book, “Black Patriots and Loyalists: Fighting for Emancipation in the War for Independence,” shows how the promise of freedom drew enslaved blacks into the Continental Army and the British Army during the Revolutionary War. Gilbert raises significantly […]
Sailing without Grandchildren
Two couples in their 50s from Southern California went sailing near Williamsburg on a beautiful fall afternoon with an astonishing statistic between them. Patty and Chris Davis have five grandchildren while their friends Sabrina and Dave have ten. “That’s 15 of them, up to age 18,” Sabrina said. “They all live nearby, so we don’t […]
Runaway Slaves
Runaway slaves found themselves in an unusual situation during the American Revolution. The new republic touted liberty and freedom, but this did not extend to all members of society. If they escaped the plantation they could gain their freedom from the British, and that factored into Williamsburg and Yorktown. In her new book, “Epic Journeys to […]
Oysters in the Bay
They are comparatively few and far between today, but oysters used to clog the Chesapeake Bay. These days, we see precious few oyster men while sailing the York River. Virginia’s catch has dropped from nearly 8 million bushels in the early 1900s to half a million today. The industry began here in the early 1800s when […]
Yorktown in the War of 1812
While not nearly as prominent as it was in the American Revolution, Yorktown had its moment in history during the War of 1812. By 1813 the British had the Chesapeake Bay bottled up with 300 warships compared with only seven by the United States. But we also had 14 small schooners known as revenue cutters, […]
Sailing on the Bow
Most of the time on a charter sailboat is spent in the cockpit having conversation and running the boat. But sometimes people prefer a little privacy and prefer to go sailing on the bow to contemplate the zen of the experience. I find while chartering along the York River that friends and siblings like the […]
Kin to George Washington
Chris and Stetson Hoffman of Franklin, Tennessee, had a special reason to bring their friends Sam and Teddy to Williamsburg. They took a charter sail on the York River in the shadow of Yorktown, where Stetson is kin to George Washington. He won the Battle of Yorktown that sealed America’s independence. “I go back twelve generations […]
Battle of 1813
Tom and Veronica Friesen of Windsor, Ontario, went sailing on a history cruise of the York River with his brother Larry and wife Susan, where they regaled us with their participation in the bicentennial of the Battle of 1813 on Lake Erie. “It was a huge rendezvous of tall ships and battleships of the period, […]
The Gunpowder Incident
We take a short vacation from sailing to report on the history of the Gunpowder Incident, courtesy of the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, from which this is reprinted. The Revolutionary era’s newspapers are rich with stories that inspired the American Revolution. In Reporting the Revolutionary War, Todd Andrlik publishes an array of […]
Sailing with a Grasshopper
While sailing off Yorktown and listening to the history of the Battle of the Capes, Paula and Eric Spalding recalled the story of the grasshopper vane atop Faneuil Hall in Boston. The website celebrateboston.com picks up the story: “The gilded grasshopper atop Faneuil Hall has an interesting history. Shem Drowne was a well known Boston […]
Sailing to British History
A family from York, England, enjoyed sailing on the York River off Yorktown while recalling the derivation of our county and river as a function of British history. Linda and Allastair Jackson live in York and were visiting here with their son Will. “The Celtics were first in England, followed by the Romans in 53 […]
Wedding Under Sail
I get asked a lot, “Do you do weddings on board?” Brandon Marks wanted to surprise his fiancé Addie Misnier with a unique wedding venue. She always wanted to go sailing, so he chose the waters of the York River. The ceremony was performed by Pastor Chris and witnessed by Addie’s best friend Katherine. Then […]
The Hessian Perspective
Condensed from the Museum of the American Revolution, Philadelphia The British Crown hired soldiers from six separate “German” states to fight alongside British forces during the War of Independence. In Hessians: Mercenaries, Rebels, and the War for British North America, author Brady J. Crytzer provides a look at the conflict from their perspective. Here, he […]
Bachelorette Birthday Sail
On this day, the winds died down and clouds filled the air. Rain threatened off in the southeast. People ask, “Do you do birthday sails?” Mallory Beard took her friends and teammates from Hampton University out for her 20th birthday. Their volleyball team travels the country and plays 30 games over the course of the […]
Women and War during 1770s
The War of Independence took a toll on all it touched — men and women, Patriots and Loyalists. In this excerpt from John Ferling’s “Whirlwind: The American Revolution and the War That Won It,” he shows the trials and tribulations women faced during the long conflict. Reprinted from the Museum of the American Revolution, Philadelphia. […]
Sailing with History
Art Burdick and his fiancé Robin Miller enjoyed a dynamic sail off Yorktown on a blustery and cloudy day that eventually calmed down into sunny and smooth. They’re getting married next week at Wren Chapel on the campus of the College of William and Mary, where he got his history degree. He teaches history to […]