York River Rescue
Shortly after 3 pm Sept. 7, Capt. Alan Allen of York River Charters radioed the US Coast Guard in Portsmouth with a mayday alert after an allision with ATON buoy R-22. As his bow quickly took on water, he flagged down a passing motorboat and transferred his fishing passengers to its stern. From the back of […]
Distinct Navy Ships
People often ask, “How can you tell Navy ships apart?” Two Navy warships blew into Yorktown Naval Weapons Station this week with distinct profiles and missions. The USS James E. Williams is a classic destroyer of the Arleigh Burke Class. Launched in 2003, the Williams is usually part of a carrier strike force in the […]
Summer Maneuvers
While tacking southeast toward the cable tripod on the York River, I could see two US Navy fast boats zooming from the York Channel into our path. Evidently they came up from the Amphibious Naval Base at Littlecreek to find a secluded spot for summer maneuvers. As we kept on course, they stopped dead ahead […]
Big Ship
A US Navy Support cargo ship pulled into Yorktown Naval Weapons Station and left just a few days later. USNS Medgar Evers is 689 feet long and has a crew of 123 civilians and 36 Navy personnel, some of whom deal with two helicopters on board. The cargo hold can take 783,000 cubic feet. It […]
Romantic Sail
A Richmond gal named Paula rented a stretch limo to take her boyfriend Christopher sailing as a surprise birthday gift. He got out of the limo and exclaimed, “Wow!” I took one look at the limo and said likewise. “My family has a house in Weems on the Corratoman River,” Chris said. “We have motorboats, […]
Santa Maria at Yorktown
People ask, “Do you ever see tall ships?” A replica ship of Christopher Columbus’s fleet pulled into Yorktown for Memorial Day Weekend. The Nao Santa Maria set sail in 2017 to mark the 525th anniversary of the original discovery of America in 1492. The 200-ton, three-masted ship blew in this week from Wilmington NC. Skip […]
Last Sail
People ask, “How deep into Fall do you still sail?” Deep into November, I took veteran sailors Jeanne Kushabar and Ugo Boggio out on the York in a light breeze from the east. I hadn’t see Ugo in a year, during which time he bought a 24-foot sailboat for his house on Boothbay Harbor, Maine. […]
Big Winds Return
On a whim, Daniel Katekovich took his bride Connie sailing along the York River on their 30th anniversary. She had never been on a sailboat before, “if you don’t count a small catamaran.” She did great as we zoomed across the river in 10 mph winds and building seas. Then we tacked to go under […]
Giant Cranes Delivered
Philadelphia had a big winter with the Eagles winning the Super Bowl and Villanova winning the NCAA basketball crown. Here’s more big news: an extraordinary video of two “post- Panamax” gantry cranes delivered to the Port of Philadelphia. Post-Panamax refers to the mega-ship that can navigate the wider Panama Canal. My sailing buddy John Alewynse […]
Minnesota Sailors Race the York
Korine and Mitchell Arseneau of Hampton took her parents Kathy and Paul sailing on a sunny, breezy afternoon along the York River. They used their extensive sailing skills to race downriver on five tacks at 10-15 degrees heeling before running with wind upriver. Paul spent 25 years in the US Navy. “I was only five […]
