Sailing with horses
Two couples from Texas and North Carolina found serenity on Election Day by sailing a becalmed York River in late afternoon. Janna and Michael Bartosh were vacationing in Williamsburg from Fort Worth. She’s an avid horse woman and he has followed her passion. Janna said, “I volunteer with therapy horses, working with children. It’s amazing […]
Learning experience
The final WALT class of the season was a learning experience as the ultimate how-to of sailing. We covered radio transmission, safety considerations and especially the four reaches. All of us wore PFDs, five of them US Coast Guard Class I vests. They’re big and boxy but they have a head rest that will save you […]
Sailing home to Virginia
Is it possible to lose a southern accent? Carolyn and Steven Wrench retired from their respective jobs in Minneapolis this summer and immediately went traveling. She grew up in Front Royal in Northern Virginia, and they have lived in Minnesota for 35 years. She had a discernible Midwestern accent, but not too flat. Carolyn took the […]
Boarding El Galeon
Hundreds of visitors to Yorktown have been boarding the Spanish replica El Galeon Andalucia for self-guided tours. It’s called El Galeon for short and its home port is Seville. The ship spent the summer touring the Great Lakes and most recently sailed in from Long Island, where thousands of New Yorkers boarded for a look above and […]
Sailing from history
Three couples from Maryland, Utah and Tennessee enjoyed a light afternoon wind on the York River as they took in a narrative of the Battle of the Capes and Siege of Yorktown. History suddenly came to life when a giant replica galleon came into view at the entrance of the York River, way out on […]
New Yorktown musuem
This month marks the 235th anniversary of the British surrender at Yorktown, and with it came the opening of the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown. (It’s not be confused with the bigger museum opening next year in Philadelphia.) The place is laid out nicely except that the main gallery that is open is something of […]
Before Yorktown
The Battle of Yorktown didn’t just happen. Douglas Cummings gave an excellent prelude as part of the Christopher Wren Association fall 2016 series. Nearly all 250 seats at the Williamsburg Library auditorium were full. Cummings is an amateur historian who has spent 17 years volunteering at the battlefield for the National Park Service. Besides the […]
Hailing France 235 years later
Blandinnd David Posiadala took their toddler daughters as well Blandine’s parents sailing along the York River on a magnificent early fall afternoon. The Posiadalas live in the Ft. Meyers area of Florida and the parents are from Paris. The girls enjoyed sitting in the small catbird seats. It was a delight to convey to them the […]
The Internal Enemy
Alan Taylor’s “The Internal Enemy: Slavery and War in Virginia, 1772-1832” addresses the complex subject of slavery in a state dedicated to liberty while still enslaving two-fifths of the population. In 1775 the last royal governor, Lord Earl Dunmore, freed the slaves provided they would fight for the British. While the majority of the Taylor book looks […]
Sailing out of the Desert
The Collins family left Palm Springs for an East Coast vacation that included sailing on the York River. “We did New York at the beginning of the summer and are now ending the summer by doing Washington and Williamsburg,” said Leif. “We have to get back next week because school starts for the boys in […]
