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 […]
