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 […]
60th Sailors
“Do people celebrate their anniversary by sailing?” As a surprise, a Williamsburg woman went to extensive lengths to reserve a private sailboat charter for her parents to mark what she called “their 60th.” She provided a limo and driver from Richmond. We had to shift the trip around rainy weather and develop an early morning […]
30-Year-Old Sailor
Two couples and two toddlers got to see a 30-year-old sailor transit the Coleman Bridge when the USS Monterey came steaming up the York River on the way to the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station. It was quite an adventure. Host Christine Wells had her hands full with the kids, so her husband Frank and pal […]
Sailing Teamwork
A Portsmouth couple bought a 27 Seward to dock near their house. Then they set out to learn how to sail as a team by mastering a Capri 22 through ASA SailTime Virginia Beach. So began four outings in three days of sailing teamwork. Days 1 and 2 were compounded by considerable Navy activity around […]
Correcting 6 Myths About Sailing
HARD TO LEARN—This is a hardy chestnut promoted by motorboat dudes, for whom heavy lifting comprises a case of beer. In fact, sailing is easy to learn because the principals are fairly straightforward. Once you realize how the wind affects the sail, it seems quite logical. There is a certain intellectual challenge to sailing, but […]
Go Navy!
To fully appreciate the US Navy plowing up the York River to the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station, you have to see the ships at their base. The last time I transited Norfolk Naval Base was in February 12 years ago when Greg Smith helped me sail the NTM 320 Hunter up from Waterside. I hired […]
Sailing Past the Laboon
People ask, “Can you get a photo of a Navy ship coming through the Coleman Bridge?” A Houston couple left on vacation after Hurricane Harvey and arrived in Virginia in time for the remnants of Hurricane Irma. The resulting sail on the York River was much more pleasant and quite an adventure. Dave and Sonya […]
Rigorous Sailing Class, Day 2
The rain held off and the wind held up for Williamsburg Area Learning Tree’s second rigorous sailing class. Seas built to three feet as a northeast wind rotated north with chilling breezes. Participants felt the tug of a vigorous close reach, taking the boat to 15 degrees heeling but no farther. They tacked and turned […]
Sail with a Captain
Guests who hire skippered boats need to beware unscrupulous boat captains, which is to say those who are not accredited by the US Coast Guard. The following well-written scenario is from the USCG Office of Investigations and Casualty Analysis in a new safety alert dated June 9. It was forwarded by the Chesapeake Bay Professional […]
Sailing with a Sub Rescuer
Of all the military veterans I’ve taken sailing, none had a more peculiar stint than Robert Durrant. He’s a machinist in upstate New York who took his wife Marianne out on the York. That brought back memories on the water. “I was in the Navy serving on the catamaran ship that rescued downed submarines.” What! […]
