Sailing to Find Saddam
Three couples with diverse backgrounds enjoyed a smooth day of sailing on the York River. And they drove a considerable way to do it. Gerald Napper brought his gal Renita Marshall from Ft. Lee, south of Richmond. He’s a First Sergeant with 24 years in, and she’s a dental administrator. He drove more than a […]
Sailing in Alaska
Dave Mrowiec never surrendered the helm when he took his wife and another couple sailing along the York River in strong winds. I’ve never seen anyone happier behind the wheel. “My father sent to me Alaska when I was 19 to work on a fishing trawler. It was 52 feet and we’d fish for salmon. […]
Sailing with Zeus
On an otherwise calm day with fluctuating winds, two couples from the Midwest got to watch as the USNS Zeus came into the York River on the way to its home port at Cheatham Annex. They saw the Coleman Bridge swing both spans open to let the big ship transit. The Zeus looked beaten up […]
Celebrity Sailing
An experienced actor was among two couples from North Carolina who went sailing near Williamsburg on a blustery afternoon. Annette and Paul White travel together at least once a year with Lynda and Mike White. While enduring stiff winds that heeled the boat, Lynda mentioned that Mike White took up acting as an adult and […]
First Communion Sail
People ask, “Do you sail on special occasions?” His grandparents brought Gianni LaLota and his older brother Sal from the Fredicksburg area to go sailing after he made his First Communion that morning with his Catholic school class. The boys took the wheel with their grandfather Jim Moore in control. They managed fluky winds and […]
Bay Sailing
Two experienced sailors from Boston blew into Tidewater for a government contract job and chose to go Bay sailing with SailTime of Virginia Beach as a fun thing to do. That worked out well because Paul Metzger is a SailTime member who also has his 33-foot Hunter in charter with the Boston franchise. “They assign […]
Navy Ship Transits
When she arrived from New Hampshire on vacation to take her mother and daughter sailing on the York River, the last thing Evelyn Hooper expected to see on a breezy afternoon was a US Navy warship. Up came the USS Nitze, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer. All three ladies got to watch as the Coleman Bridge […]
Sailing with Rockefeller
Joy and James Mathias came from Arkansas with their friends from Missouri to take their first sailboat cruise, on the York River near Williamsburg. They were vitally interested in Colonial Williamsburg, which was restored and developed in the 1930s by John D. Rockefeller Jr. Sailing the inland waters on a beautiful afternoon was like sailing […]
Sailing Psychology
First-time sailors encounter different reactions based on their life experience, and it takes a little sailing psychology to figure it out. Golfers are better at the helm than tennis players. Men prefer the helm over women because they tend to be more adventurous and risk-prone. Dancers are better than singers. And so on with other […]
Soaring to Sail
While out cruising the York River, people on my boat are intrigued by the three-masted schooner Alliance, which is another way visitors go soaring to sail. “Is that your competition?” they ask. In fact, I have 76 competitors because that’s the number of things to do in Williamsburg according to Trip Advisor. (I’m No. 30 overall and […]
Family Sailboat Trip in Virginia
When visitors to Williamsburg are looking for a family sailboat trip in Virginia, my charter often pops up on the Internet. Aside from the fun of sailing, I take photos under way and back at dockside to document the adventure. Sometimes these are the only photos of the entire family taken on vacation, so it […]
The Dream of Owning a Sailboat
Virtually everyone I take cruising along the York River on their charter outing is fascinated by the sport of sailing. Some express the dream of owning a sailboat one day. A few have done it, with no regrets. Yet sailing isn’t all that expensive when compared to other sports. Columnist Nick Hayes in the February […]
Sailing in Charlotte Harbor
Bonnie and I toured South Florida off the Gulf of Mexico to pursue charter and teaching opportunities. We sent sailing in Charlotte Harbor and fell upon Let’s Go Sailing Englewood, which closely resembles my brand Let’s Go Sail Williamsburg. This excursion was the highlight of our ten-day trip. Capt. Levi provided us a low-key, superior sail […]
Lessons Learned
Here are six lessons learned while sailing this summer. WEATHER – So many people, especially out West and in the Midwest, have suffered incalculable psychic and monetary damage from floods, drought, wildfires, snow and bitter, bitter cold in recent years. We have it easy here in Williamsburg and throughout Tidewater Virginia. SPORTS –namely the NFL– […]
November Sail
Ivan Levy made a return trip for a November sail on the York River, this time with his friend Alena who’s a bartender at Bailey’s in Patrick Henry Mall. She’s from Belarus in the former Soviet Union and speaks perfect English. “I always wanted to live in America,” she said proudly. In brisk winds gusting to […]
Sailing is Better than Golf
Before addressing why sailing is better than golf, another distinction is appropriate. I can often tell if a person plays golf, as opposed to tennis. Golfer have better hands and appreciate the effect that the wind has on their game. Tennis players power through the shot and ignore the wind since it has only a […]
Sail Class Crescendo
The 16th fall sail class by the Williamsburg Area Learning Tree reached a crescendo Nov. 8 with a straight run out the York River to the edge of the Chesapeake Bay, just south of Mobjack Bay and within sight of Newpoint Comfort. On the return leg, we used a northeast wind of 10-15 mph and […]
Sailing is like Golf
Sailing is like golf in myriad ways. Here are a few. You can meditate while exercising mildly. The wind matters. For racers and golfers, handicap scoring levels the playing field. Three to four hours is plenty of diversion. You can cherish the silence of nature. A cold beer tastes great afterward. You can enjoy the […]
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 […]
Diverse Sailors
Three couples spanning generations from different parts of the country formed diverse sailors on the York River this week. Corinne Casey is an optometrist and Brian Kanhofer is a computer engineer. They drove down from Baltimore and rented a cabin on the York. “It seemed so much more rustic than a hotel in Williamsburg,” Brian said.