Colorado Sailors
Linda and Bill Schmidt of Westminster, Colorado, had a blast sailing the York River as they enjoyed their best amenity visiting Williamsburg. “This is the highlight of our trip. I love this boat,” Linda said as she ran a delicate helm after Bill helped deploy the red and blue spinnaker for downwind sailing. They mastered […]
Living the Dream
Living the Dream Debbie and Kevin Weber of Appleton, Wisconsin, are immensely proud of their two grown boys. Ryan is a portfolio manager in Madison, and Kyle operates charter boats at a renowned fishing resort near the Minnesota border with Canada. Kyle knows where the fish are and how to negotiate the tricky Customs procedures […]
Dedicated Sailor
Wayne and Connie Bentel found sailing the York River much easier than his career of 40 years teaching special-ed, where among other things he helped develop community homes for teenagers. He must have had the patience of Job all those years. “Only at work,” he laughed, looking lovingly at her. Connie and her family of […]
Boating Dangers
As they sailed into brilliantly orange sunset off Yorktown, Ann and David Gross recalled a harrowing experience while boating on Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. They were proceeding at 10-15 mph in their 20.5-foot Bayliner one night. Then they nearly T-boned another boat because it had no navigation lights showing. There are several lessons […]
Sailing to Civility
Two Long Island families enjoyed an afternoon of sailing while discussing a wide range of issues. The two girls are entering seventh grade at the Latin School of Kellenberg Memorial High School, where the Marist Brothers “train the mind and educate the heart in patterns of civility, order and respect,” according to the website. Students […]
Sailing with Seatbelts
People ask, “Do you learn about other stuff while sailing?” Cathy and Ron Johnson tacked out the York River and sailed on the spinnaker all the way back. He worked 38 years with International Harvester, which once had huge market share for building school buses. So why don’t they have seat belts? (1) Bus seats […]
Adoption Scandal
While sailing along the York River the other afternoon, Katie and Steve Day got to talking about their frustrations adopting a child. Theirs is not the typical story of searching out a newborn. Instead, they seek older children of any race up to teenage years, having developed considerable experience as foster parents for black and […]
Key Sailors
People ask, “Is it hard to fly a spinnaker?” Aron and Caryn Arias took their boys sailing on the York and helped deploy the colorful spinnaker on the bow for running downwind. Aron and Ben (right) have sailed with Boy Scouts in the Florida Keys. Alex ran the helm as Ben raised the spinnaker. The […]
Heeling is Fun
People ask, “What kind of coincidences do you encounter?” We had another family go sailing from New Hampshire, so that’s twice in two days. Mike and Linda Roberge brought their grandsons from the Granite State to Williamsburg, where they all went sailing on a warm spring afternoon. We were all in shirtsleeves, a first this […]
Party & Dolphins
One evening in 2013 we hosted three couples, all of whom are nurses at a big New Jersey hospital. They took turns at the helm, running the boat. And they took many creative photos as the sun began to set. What was truly remarkable was that during their singing and chatting and laughing, they forgot […]
Fast Pitch Sails Past
Kristi Olsen and a contingent of York County tourism officials sailed Wednesday. Brian Fuller of York Parks & Rec reported that 147 teams from 16 states are here this week for the Girls Class B World Series of Fast Pitch Softball. They’re playing on fields across York, James City and Williamsburg. Top pitchers can throw […]