Sailing Big
The Sefcik family of Ringoes, New Jersey, went sailing near Williamsburg while in town showing their oldest daughter the College of William & Mary. W&M is a small liberal arts university, with 5,000 undergrads and 2,500 graduate students. The size is still daunting to incoming freshmen who find the place overwhelming. That shouldn’t be a […]
Toy Boat at Sea
A toy boat launched in the Atlantic Ocean by South Carolina school students has reached the coast of Wales, after a stopover in Bermuda. The Royal Gazette reports that the Carolina Dreamer was built by the St. Andrew’s School of Math & Science in Charleston and fitted with a GPS tracker. The little vessel went […]
Kudzu to the Rescue
Chesapeake Beach is midway up the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. People think that hurricanes are the Bay’s worst nightmare, but historically nor’easters have been worse. That’s because they’re more frequent and often pound the coast for days instead of the hours of wind and rain usually associated with a hurricane. Margaret […]
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 […]
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 […]
Lights for Sailboats
The US Coast Guard has developed an elaborate scheme of navigation lights for boats and sailboats of all sizes on the York River and around the world. Thay way, everyone can recognize each other at night and tell what direction they’re going. The easiest example is the one here of a sailboat with red, green […]
American Hero
George Washington secured his place as an American hero at Yorktown, where Continental and French troops beat the best Army and biggest Navy in the world. Patty DeMuth knows that well, as she related while sailing the York River with her family in the shadow of the battlefield. “I’m a direct descendant of Washington’s […]
Museum Confusion
The Museum of the American Revolution at Philadelphia opened in 2017. But one should not confuse it with the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown (pictured). Because that’s the new name for the Yorktown Victory Center overlooking the York River. Groundbreaking in Philadelphia was in spring 2017. In fact, Yorktown opened first, six weeks ahead of […]
Kennedy Sailors
People ask, “Who are the most inspiring sailors?” Kennedy sailors are an American icon. President Kennedy made it glamorous by sailing on his sloop Victura out in the Atlantic off the coast of the Kennedy compound. Ted Kennedy enjoyed the contemplative nature as a sailor so much so that he cruised off Hyannis Port the […]
Pursuit of Sailing
Renee Williams took her husband Spencer sailing on the York River as a surprise birthday present. She was reluctant to take the wheel but proved highly capable in brisk winds that required reefing (reducing) the sails. They want to get into motorboats or sailboats near where they live in Northern Virginia. I told them […]
