Sailing the Great Loop
People ask, “What’s the Great Loop?” One of the most ambitious sailing adventures in America is the Great Loop, essentially up the East Coast to New England, down the St. Lawrence into the Great Lakes and on to Chicago, down the Mississippi to the Gulf, and across to Florida. Meet David and Susan Houghland of […]
Opening Day 2018 Sailing Season
Two couples from metro Richmond enjoyed opening day of the 2018 sailing season with a three-hour cruise in brisk winds and sunny skies. They alternated sitting up on the bow, where excitement meets romantic contemplation. Amy Lane took her beau Steve Litton sailing on his 42nd birthday. He said, “The last time we went sailing […]
Sailing Past Thanksgiving
The cruising season winds up by mid-November, but I held off until after Thanksgiving to take Adam Six of Charlotte NC and his girlfriend on a surprise sail for her. Lennie Gorman was recovering from shoulder surgery, and Adam was on leave from Afghanistan. He said, “I work in maintenance with MRVs,” which I took […]
Baptism of Sail Spray
A couple from Northern Virginia came to Williamsburg for the weekend to go sailing for the first time. They wound up getting a baptism of sail spray. Julie Koontz gave her husband Mike a unique birthday present of sailing the York River. On a bright, sunny day with steady winds of 12 mph, we […]
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 […]
Sailing on Three Anniversaries
By coincidence, three couples from Chesapeake, Williamsburg and Minneapolis celebrated by sailing the York River. They were followed by two college chums. Rebekah and Jonathan Macalvey got married three years ago after meeting on duty in Afghanistan. She’s a physician’s assistant in the Navy and he’s a SEAL with 20 years in. Rebekah said, “I’m on […]
Best Quick Guide to Cayman Paradise
We returned to Grand Cayman after an earlier vacation, looking for relaxation and the Caribbean sunsets. Every day is sunny, warm and breezy, comparable to perhaps 30 days all year in Tidewater Virginia. No wonder people flock here from Ohio, Canada, Germany, Poland, you name it. There are no panhandlers, no crime, no police sirens, […]
Sailing Past Navy Destroyer
While on a weekend getaway from Washington, DC, Dave Ramish took his girlfriend Ilana Freedman sailing for some outdoor fun off Yorktown. They hit the jackpot by observing a rare Saturday departure of a Navy warship from the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station. We set out with anticipation after a chilly, drizzly morning into clearing […]
She said yes on the bow of the boat
Reggie Holmes took his girlfriend Lea Diggs sailing on the York River to propose marriage, and she said yes on the bow of the boat. The plan was to bring two couples along to witness the occasion. We sailed for an hour, exchanging stories and moving about the boat. The other couples liked the idea […]
Summer Wedding on York River
Jody Longstreet and Ed Hollin rode his Harley from central Indiana to Williamsburg for their summer wedding on the York River. “It was 700 miles,” he recalled, “our longest trip ever. We came through pouring rain. We saw the storm and tried to wait. Once we got in the mountains, the rain cut loose something […]
