Good Riddance

As many as 20 derelict sailboats and motorboats on the Hards at York River Yacht Haven are in the process of being crushed and trucked away. A few wooden boats date to the 1940s. Once the hill is cleared and graded, more current boats will move here from down the hill to make room for […]

Danger Sails

Danger Sails

A couple from metro Richmond returned for another sail and brought friends with them. Donna Ludwig recalled the last time she and Buddy went sailing. “It was with my brother-in-law on his sailboat, slightly smaller than this, say 27 feet. It was a day like today and we had a wonderful time. But when we […]

Arts Quarter Sails

Award-winning actor Glenn Close was the star of the dedication of the William & Mary Arts Quarter, a massive reconfiguration of Phi Beta Kappa Hall into a half dozen buildings interconnected. Before several hundred alumni and guests in the new PBK, Close expressed heartfelt gratitude for their support, tearing up at one point from the […]

Hover Sail

Hover Sail

Three couples from Georgia, South Carolina and Maryland converged on a cool, crisp Fall day to pursue the History Cruise. But first we sailed under the Coleman Bridge to view a Navy submarine in port. Doug Boyd reluctantly took the helm, having once sailed S-28s in Annapolis. He talked of the wind conditions there as […]

The World

The World

Albeit pretentious, that’s the name of a massive cruise ship that anchored overnight in the York River. MS The World presages the coming (and controversial) Princess liner with 3,000 passengers disembarking at Yorktown. But this one has only 150-200 passengers who own 165 condo apartments worth millions. As the name implies, the cruising course extends […]

Last Call

Last Call

Last Call recounts the end of dolphin season, plus flying the spinnaker.

Navy Sail

Next Day

For six weeks, we saw nary a Navy warship. Then two showed up within two days. Three days later, the first ship left to go out to sea. A New Hampshire couple was aboard, having taken their ASA 101 course on Lake Champlain. I thought it only fitting that the navigate under the Coleman Bridge […]

Childhood Sail

Some people have wonderful childhood sail memories, largely about their parents. While sailing the York with his wife Melissa, Ralph Leonard recalled his dad. “We sailed a trimaran off the coast of Florida to the Bahamas. I guest it took maybe a day. We stayed overnight on the beach and sailed back the next day. […]

Elegance of Sailing

Elegance of sailing

People ask, “Can you sum up sailing in one word?” Yes. Except for polo, nothing beats the elegance of sailing. From the yacht club to the ocean and everywhere in between, sailing exudes a special ambiance and attitude that is hard to replicate elsewhere. Few sports compare to sailing. It lends itself to special occasions […]

Farming Sail

We get very few people from Oklahoma, so Melissa and R.T. Green of Leedey were a pleasant surprise. They took their grandson Brier out as part of a vast historical journey. “We were in Washington yesterday,” Melissa said, “and we’re doing Williamsburg and Yorktown here.” The winds were light but steady, a refreshing change from […]