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 to Scholarships
Kyle Voors and Sarah Bevier drove up from Chesapeake to go sailing on the York in a brisk spring breeze. Kyle is in the Navy, and Sarah writes grants for the Access College Foundation of Norfolk. “We help minority students learn more about going to college by reaching out to them and their parents as […]
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 for Blood
Remember when giving blood was important because it was in short supply? Not any more, or at least not so much. Kenny and Anna Marie Lamberth of Clever, Missouri talked about the world of blood while sailing on a warm afternoon near Williamsburg with their friends Joy and James Mathias. The men switched operating the […]
Sailing into Retirement
They say you should phase in retirement and not do it cold turkey. John LaBossiere and his wife Trish have figured it out. They returned from a sail last spring on the York River to convey the new details of his retirement plan. He is finishing up work on his US Coast Guard captain’s license […]
Sailing with the Navy
Sail Time’s operating waters in Willoughby Bay are surrounded by the US Navy, so it feels like we’re sailing with the Navy. A fleet of attack helicopters and smaller search-and-rescue helicopter ring the bay. Just to the north is Fifth Fleet, capped by aircraft carriers jutting into the skies of Hampton Roads. Meet Navy Lt. […]
Sailing Like Ike
Students in Sail Time’s basic sailing course ventured out of Willoughby Bay into the James River, past the USS Eisenhower. The aircraft carrier was back in port after eight sailors were injured in March when the arresting gear on the flight deck snapped during a routing landing of a jet fighter. I once had a […]
Ninth Anniversary Sail
Having never been to Williamsburg before, Brian and Meg Scoggins of Chattanooga set out on a ninth anniversary sail by venturing out on the historic York River in brisk winds rising to 15 mph. Brian had never sailed before, but he had gained some visual experience playing Empire Total War. That’s a popular video game that assigns […]
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 […]
Teachers Sail
Two school teachers from Sunfield, Michigan went on their first extensive sailboat trip by venturing out into the York River on a warm and windy spring afternoon. Because the winds were coming from the south, we were able to cut through the waves and reach the “lee shore,” next to the Yorktown Battlefield, where the […]
Mother & Daughter Sail
Lidia Berger of Alexandria, Virginia, took time out from her engineering/architecture job to take her mother and daughter sailing on the York River near Williamsburg. She is pictured sitting with Nicole on the bow of the sailboat, with the Coleman Bridge in the background. As an engineer, Lidia was intrigued that the span swing sideways […]
Sailing to William & Mary
Angela Goodhart brought two of her children from Northern Virginia to Williamsburg to show her daughter the College of William & Mary as a potential applicant. Angela is a W&M alumna from the 1980s who majored in business. She was impressed by the size and scope of the Mason School and the School of Education, […]
Old Friends Sailing
Claire Fortier took her partner Maria Pialeat and one of their grown children and his girlfriend sailing on a brisk afternoon along the York River. Claire was an editor colleague of mine at The Virginia Gazette who wound up in California editing the South Lake Tahoe Tribune, where she also was elected to […]
Sailing into Surgery
“Did you know that a DNR doesn’t apply if you go into surgery?” That provocative notion was told by Joel Dixon, who with his wife Hamet works as an Operating Room nurse at the University of Virginia Hospital in Charlottesville. They were in Williamsburg for an afternoon sail on the York River with their daughter […]
Sailing with Sturgeon
The Hasz family was fully aware of the need for lifejackets because the waters of the York River are still cold. Tamara and Eric Hasz were in Williamsburg from Northern Wisconsin, where they live near Lake Winnebago. “It’s 30 miles long and 10 miles wide, but only 15 feet deep,” Eric said. They took their […]
Emergencies at Sea
You’ve no doubt seen images of the US Coast Guard rapelling down a line from an MH-60 helicopter to scoop someone from the water. There are two methods of rescue, and one of them could be fatal. That was among the revelations of an all-day seminar in Annapolis on “Medical Emergencies at Sea: Beyond First […]
Sailing Days of Old
Gina Womack took her parents, Stephanie and Tom Womack, sailing on the York River on blustery afternoon. We motored across the water to the Yorktown side to get into the lee of the wind, where the trees and the cliffs knock down the gusts. There we cruised up and down the coast while enjoying a […]
Sailing past a Submarine
Submarines that are partially surfaced are hard to see, especially when they’re in dock. Sailing past a submarine can therefore be tricky. Arelene and Marvin Birnbaum enjoy the great outdoors by camping. They live in the Hudson Valley of New York and thought they’d take a crack at sailing, since they live near the river […]
Sailing a New Boat
Don Schreffler just bought an old sailboat with another fellow and then went sailing on a new boat to get the feel. (New to him.) “We were going to pay $2,500 but the owner couldn’t start the engine. He was really frustrated about it and gave us the boat for $1,000. My buddy is a […]
