Sailing Past the Laboon
People ask, “Can you get a photo of a Navy ship coming through the Coleman Bridge?” A Houston couple left on vacation after Hurricane Harvey and arrived in Virginia in time for the remnants of Hurricane Irma. The resulting sail on the York River was much more pleasant and quite an adventure. Dave and Sonya […]
Salvage After Storm
With the threat of Hurricane Irma looming and amid a bevy of oil tankers that showed up in the York River, we went sailing on a bright and beautiful day with two delightful couples. Julio Pons and his wife took their friends Steve and Bridgette Perry sailing so they could appreciate Julio’s passion of sailing. […]
Sailing with Slugs
“I was a slug, I’ve ridden with slugs, and I’ve driven with slugs.” So claimed Steve Relitz as we sailed an adventure on the York River with his mother and siblings on the occasion of his brother Sam’s 27th birthday. Steve lives in Stafford County, just outside Fredericksburg, and commutes to Washington to work for […]
Sailing into the Mist
Linda Nay of Henrico took her family sailing on a misty afternoon that led to sprinkles on and off. “We don’t mind,” her husband Kent said. “We’re outdoor people and like all kinds of activity, even when the weather isn’t perfect.” The simply wanted to sail a new river. She found Let’s Go Sail […]
Meet Winston Churchill
A couple from Leesburg and a family from all over Virginia coincidentally went sailing on the York River on a blustery, overcast day. Sara Bailey took the helm and managed very well despite rising seas in winds blowing around 10 mph. We headed across the river and then turned upriver to get on the […]
HGTV Shoots Sailing
A young couple from Prince George County is rehabilitating a summer home in Mathews County, with views of Chesapeake Bay. The job started last March with the husband and his father doing most of the work. Now that the job is almost finished, husband Ricky Elder is taking a break so his wife Ashley […]
Eclipse on the Water
The York River took an eerie sky and temperatures fell slightly on the open water, compared to land. The best line of the day came from an 11-year-old whose mother asked sweetly if she could see the eclipse with her special solar glasses. “Yes, Mom, it’s ALL I can see through these. Everything else is […]
Sailing the Open Sea
Two wonderful ladies with exciting jobs went sailing on a serene afternoon along the York River. Chanda Ings celebrated her partner Janell Smith-Ings’ birthday, and Janell took it well. “Hooray, I’m 40!” she exclaimed from the bow. Janelle teaches dance for the Governor’s School in Norfolk and is an adjunct professor of dance at the […]
A Hessian Diary of the American Revolution
In 1777, Johann Conrad Döhla journeyed from present-day Germany to fight alongside the British Army during the American War for Independence. He was one of the about 20,000 German-speaking troops, collectively referred to as “Hessians,” hired by King George III to help defeat the American Revolutionaries. Döhla fought from New York to Virginia and kept […]
Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox
Before Yorktown, Lord Earl Cornwallis was quite the warrior. So was Francis Marion, who earned the moniker the “Swamp Fox” for his exploits in South Carolina. Journalist John Oller debunks numerous myths in a new biography, “Swamp Fox: How Francis Marion Saved the American Revolution.” In this extract, Cornwallis’s lieutenant Banastre Tarleton and Marion pursue each other in combat. –Courtesy […]
Ice Sailing Is Fastest
I once wrote an article for the Colonial Williamsburg Journal about the origin of ice skating. It began on the Hudson River in New York, where wealthy aristocrats took to speeding alongside trains on the coast—and beating them. Steve Brown had a similar experience growing up in Michigan. He took his wife and daughters sailing […]
Sail Army
Some men have their heart set on buying a sailboat as a life-long dream. No wonder, since sailing is a magnificent adventure that is too frequently interrupted by life. Seldom do I encounter a woman who wants a boat for her husband. That was the case with LJ and Allen Offord, who drove up from […]
Sailing Near the Navy
A couple and a family got a unique vacation adventure while listening to a narrative about the Battle of the Capes. “How big were the ships?” asked one person. I pointed behind them to a Navy warship steaming into the York River. “That big,” I pointed. The USS Gravely is an Arleigh Burke class […]
Sailing Fast in Big Wind
After a weather front passes, we get a day or two of brisk winds blowing 12-18 mph and gusting to 25 on the York River. The operating procedure is to reduce the sail space by reefing, in my case rolling the sails out only halfway. The boat can run on one sail half reefed, […]
Sail past Navy ships
Nearly every week, except during the holidays, US Navy ships 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 manage to sail out toward […]
Sailing with Fascinating People
Sometimes people ask if charter sailing ever gets boring. Not when I’m sailing with fascinating people. Like you folks, I told Kent Richeson as we zoomed out the York River on a magnificent southern breeze. “You see, honey,” he turned to his wife Beth, “we’re fascinating people,” Kent joked. I wasn’t kidding. They brought their two […]
Girls’ weekend getaway
A unique idea for a girls’ weekend getaway is to go sailing. Many’s the time I’ve had pals show up spontaneously for three-hour afternoon sail. Mothers and daughters find sailing a bonding experience as well. Get out of the parking lot and on to the water. The Adventure Cruise is the most popular, offering a […]
Family Sailing Experience
A Richmond couple got stuck in traffic for an hour as they finally brought their four young children to the marina to go sailing. The contrast was evident as the sailboat scooted out to the York River with all the room in the world to drive. Light winds propelled us across the river and into […]
Courageous Captains Sailing
Exactly one year later, retired Navy Capt. Terry Culton and his wife Helen returned to sail the York River, this time with friends Mike and Debbie Decicco. Unlike last year when the winds were flat, they piped up quickly to 12-15 mph. So we reefed both sails. The couples were in town for a […]
York tugboats
Up and down the York River, tugboats provide safe and secure transit for ships. The biggest clients are Navy warships, which usually take one and sometimes two tugs to push and prod into port at Yorktown Naval Weapons Station. The current is wicked, aggravated by the 2-foot tide. Moran Towing gets that job done, using […]