Sailboat Wedding
Linda Dugan and Dennis Landry came all the way from arid Arizona to Virginia to get married on the water in a uniquely romantic setting. They chose Williamsburg Charter Sails to go out on the York River for their wedding ceremony. As we sailed to the middle of the river, almost miraculously several pods comprising […]
Sailing to Greece
Mary and Philip Kotsios of Chelmsford MA joined two other couples to sail the York River in a brisk breeze off Yorktown. We wound up sailing to Greece. “We are Greek-Americans and like to travel there,” Philip told us. “I hired a driver once who wanted $300 Euro for a tour. He asked if I […]
Learning in Rising Winds
In facHaving been a motorboat dude all his life, Steven Cucick of Littleton MA brought his wife Christine to Yorktown to learn how to sail on the York River. We covered all three points of sail: close reach, beam reach, broad reach. We did a heave-to for Man Overboard. He sailed in light and fluky […]
Sailing Beyond Superstitions
Sailing has numerous superstitions, but so does the theater. Todd Aberts took his family sailing near Williamsburg and talked about his work as production manager of the Raleigh Community Theater in North Carolina. “It’s bad luck to say Macbeth on stage because of a disastrous fire in England that killed many people and destroyed the […]
Sailing Your Heart Out
I like to convince men NOT to buy a sailboat. Their wives seem pleased by that. Bruce Queen of suburban Richmond is land-locked in Mechanicsville but loves to sail his heart out. He took Basic Keelboat Sailing from the American Sailing Association and had a blast. “I went the ASA Woodbridge Sailing School on the […]
Sailing to Sierra Leone
The private sailboat experience attracts a lot of people who do well by doing good. Meet Karen and Tom Asher, surgeons who do missionary work in Sierra Leone six months of every year. They are avid sailors who enjoyed a relaxing cruise near Williamsburg while on vacation. I asked Karen, “Did you get Ebola?” “No, […]
Sailing to Special Ed
Teachers who work in Special Ed are in a class by themselves. Thelma Ivie of Bartlesville, Oklahoma, has been at it 20 years, most recently across the border in a Kansas school district. We talked about her work while sailing near Williamsburg. A chronic problem I’ve heard over the years isn’t about the students, but […]
Sailing to Major League Sports
Lisa and Bill Walters own and operate a sports store in suburban Baltimore called Wild Bill’s Apparel, where they cover all the major league sports. They also market as vendors for the Orioles and Ravens. They described some of the action while sailing with a family along the York River, south of Williamsburg. Bill […]
Sailing Past the Navy
The US Navy has strict rules that no one can sail closer than 200 yards to the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station when a ship is in port. Nash Skiles took his family out sailing in a light wind that carried us under the Coleman Bridge and well safe of that range. We watched as […]
Sailing to Certification
Too many teens come out of high school and go to college reluctantly, only to find themselves stuck in an academic rut. One alternative is technical school for specialized certification, and that’s what Spencer and Max Gazda are on track for. They joined their parents, Derek and Tina Gazda, on a sailing excursion near Williamsburg. […]
Will I Get Seasick?
People occasionally ask, “Will I get seasick?” on a three-hour cruise along the York River. The answer is No, for several reasons. 1. We sail in a river, which almost never gets enough chop to make the boat pitch forward and backward. High seas with seven-foot waves (measured from top to bottom) are found 20 miles […]
Sailing Memories
Elizabeth Blatz and her friend Heidi Smith went sailing while visiting Williamsburg, and it brought back fond memories. “My parents had a 70-foot sailboat, built in Japan,” Elizabeth said. “The man who built it sailed it to the U.S. after the war and sold it. It presented as a magnificent boat and we kept it […]
Sailing from Germany
Germans are funny people, but not in the humorous sense. While sailing along the York River with her husband’s family, Rebecca Westrum regaled us with stories of teaching English in Germany. I wondered how they could possibly grasp so many American idioms, or figures of speech unique to our culture. Someone suggested the idiom of […]
Sailing the Constitution
Three experienced sailing couples went out on the York River and got to run three tacks of an asymmetrical spinnaker off the bow. As we neared the mouth of the river, I recounted the blockade that the French fleet executed of the Chesapeake Bay and the York in September 1781. Lord Earl Cornwallis looked out […]
Sailing to Success
Two couples from New York City quit their jobs in fashion, corporate, nursing and teaching to find success in a group home setting in Washington, DC. Charrisse and Mark Ifill and his brother Mike Ifill and his wife Khardieita related their collective experience while sailing on the York River near Williamsburg with their small children. […]
Sailing Past College
Among six people sailing the York River near Williamsburg, two had close connections to Virginia’s community college system. We sailed past college like never before. Susan Wood of Glen Allen retired as the top academic officer for the entire system of 23 colleges spanning 41 campuses. Part of her job was to approve […]
Folds of Honor Sail
Hundreds of people turned out to the inaugural 2015 Patriot Boating Days at York River Yacht Haven. Proceeds from games, events and activities benefited Folds of Honor, which supports the families of America’s fallen or disabled heroes by educating their legacy with scholarships. Leslie Morton and Sarah Clarkson took their children sailing along the York […]
Warship Sails Past
The Coleman Bridge swung both spans open for the warship USS John S. McCain as it sailed past Yorktown on the York River. Jonathan and Zack Barringer joined the rest of their family observing the exercise as the ship proceeded from the Norfolk Naval Base to the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station. Their dad Jeffrey noted […]
New Sailors
While sailing in a wonderful breeze, I explained to the Bartlett family of Minnesota how the Coleman Bridge met deadline when it was replaced over the York River between Yorktown and Gloucester Point. For a detailed look at the history of the bridge, check out the video below. Mike Bartlett served in the “Brown Navy” […]
Night Sailing
Certain navigation lights have to be turned on at night depending on whether you’re sailing or anchored. These lights do not impinge on the dark magnificence of sailing beneath millions of stars on a crystal clear night. But crab pots do. These pesky lines are connected to cages usually found in 10-15 […]
