Success Story Sailing
Phyllis Glass of Columbia, PA, was sailing with us with her husband Gary. She recalled a harrowing counterpoint. “Our daughter-in-law is a parole officer for juveniles in Lancaster. They had to move her from an office in the courthouse to the school so she could be closer to the parolees. She wears a bulletproof vest.” […]
Sailing Healthy
Sailing brings out the best in people, including how they became healthy. Diane and Jim Glassmeyer of Marion, Ohio, joined two other couples on a brisk run along the York River, where she told a compelling story. “I was a corporate vice president for a big media company, proficient on both the radio and newspaper […]
Extreme Sailing
Three days of rain on the York drove nearly everyone off the river. On the other side of the world, eight international teams raced in St. Petersburg, Russia for the sixth stop on the 2015 Extreme Sailing Series™ eight Act global tour. After four days of racing in the heart of St. Petersburg, it was […]
Immigration Waters
If you think immigration reform is controversial in America, try Canada. Susan McBride Friesen is a lawyer/lobbyist for the Canadian mushroom industry, and she regaled us while sailing with her husband Larry and his brother and wife. “Canada allows visiting immigrants to stay five years legally, and then they have to go back to their […]
Mayday on the York
While taking two couples from Richmond sailing in the afternoon on the York River, we heard a mayday emergency call. It was a motorboat taking on water. As other boats came to assist, we learned that the water had submerged the engine halfway and killed it. Eventually the York County fire boat came and boarded […]
Battle of 1813
Tom and Veronica Friesen of Windsor, Ontario, went sailing on a history cruise of the York River with his brother Larry and wife Susan, where they regaled us with their participation in the bicentennial of the Battle of 1813 on Lake Erie. “It was a huge rendezvous of tall ships and battleships of the period, […]
Sailing their Careers
Two dynamic couples visiting Williamsburg from Greensboro took a short sailing vacation on the York River. Having never been on a sailboat before, they did a fabulous job running the rig, raising the spinnaker, and conducting a man overboard exercise to rescue a hat—my hat actually. We saw a half dozen dolphin, who trailed the […]
Sailing to a New Future
Many people retire to Williamsburg, but few try to develop a new future by relocating their jobs here. Meet Heather and Michael Savage of Morris Plains, New Jersey. She’s looking to transfer her position with a timeshare company and he’s looking to move his chef career as well. While sailing along the York River off […]
Sailing with a Grasshopper
While sailing off Yorktown and listening to the history of the Battle of the Capes, Paula and Eric Spalding recalled the story of the grasshopper vane atop Faneuil Hall in Boston. The website celebrateboston.com picks up the story: “The gilded grasshopper atop Faneuil Hall has an interesting history. Shem Drowne was a well known Boston […]
Sailing to College
Sue Jennings and Cindi Love picked up where they were years ago when they went sailing in the British Virgin Islands. They chose a blustery day on the York River, which afforded sufficient excitement to nearly put the rail in the water. They loved it. Cindi is an executive in Washington with the American College […]
The Other Soaring
Anne and Mark Richards of College Station, Texas, went soaring on the York River near Williamsburg, and he was intrigued by the aerodynamics of the sail plan. “I fly a Piper Cub. It costs around $140 an hour to rent and I do it for enjoyment. It takes 40 to 60 hours of flight time […]
Sailing with Basketball
While sailing near Williamsburg with Elizabeth and Chris Pack of Cincinnati, he turned out to be a big Kentucky fan. I asked why they’re so good in basketball but not so much in football. “One Christmas, Bear Bryant was given a fountain pen and Adolph Rupp was given a Cadillac. Bryant left shortly thereafter.” Chris […]
The Zen of the Great Outdoors
Here’s what the Zen of the Great Outdoors can do for you. Amy and Jeff Guyer look like newlyweds but have been married 25 years. They spent nine years in Alaska and enjoyed it all. Now they’re taking lessons to learn how to sail. “We were in Anchorage, where the sun comes up around 10ish […]
Flying to Sail
You would think airline pilots would be blasé about sailing since it’s not nearly so fast. But relatively speaking, it is. That’s what Bob Woods of suburban Roanoke found as he took his wife Lisa and their son and his cousin sailing on the York River on a rare blustery day. The sails were reefed […]
Wedding Under Sail
I get asked a lot, “Do you do weddings on board?” Brandon Marks wanted to surprise his fiancé Addie Misnier with a unique wedding venue. She always wanted to go sailing, so he chose the waters of the York River. The ceremony was performed by Pastor Chris and witnessed by Addie’s best friend Katherine. Then […]
Sailing Past William & Mary
Dan and Catherine Marino of Chatham NJ took their family sailing near Williamsburg before their older daughter Juliana toured the College of William & Mary. She’s looking at the club sailing team, having developed experience on 420s with her sister Marisa. We sailed past the Marine Science School of William & Mary. The small boats […]
Best of Both Sailing Worlds
They say every man should have five sailboats for the range of his excursions in life. Mark Muldowney took family members sailing on the York River from their Pennsylvania and New Jersey roots, where he described his two lives. “I belong to the Philadelphia Yacht Club, a prestigious name that belies the annual membership fee […]
Special Ed Sailing
My streak of special ed teachers continued this summer with a 25-year-old in her third year teaching in the Bronx. Meghan Warager went sailing with her parents on the York River and insisted that her school is not in the “war zone” of South Bronx but closer to the Whitestone Bridge. She teaches the very […]
Avoiding the Bridge
Kathy and Ed Raskay of Horsham, Pennsylvania, took their four fabulous daughters sailing on the York River, near Williamsburg, before everyone has to go back to school next month. They found it to be great excitement. People ask, “How do you avoid hitting the Coleman Bridge?” Ed recalled, “One time I was sailing with a […]
Boaters now Sailing an RV
Pam and Dennis Ard of Atlanta worked their way up and down the arc of boating by owning motorboats that were 30, 38 and finally 32 feet long. Today they are dedicated RVers, who went sailing on the York River near Williamsburg on an eastern seaboard trip to Charleston, Hilton Head, Wilmington, Virginia Beach and […]