Memories on the Water
Patti Clark took her family of grown children on a cruise along the York River during a week-long “staycation” in the summer of 2015. It included golf, water sports, shopping, dining and a massage. Sailing brings out the best in everyone and occasional memories of the water that are less than great. People ask, “Do […]
Sailing to Surprise
Ashley Greer took her parents, who live in North Carolina, sailing for the first time as a surprise birthday present for her dad. He wondered if they might be going roller skating. Instead, they enjoyed a brisk cruise on the York River near Yorktown. Ashley is studying for her doctorate in applied behavior analysis at […]
Sailing the Current
It took me years to realize while sailing that once you cross the York River the current on the north side dissipates because it gets shallower. The river current and the tidal current combine in the middle of the river to form a wicked 3-4 mph lateral drag on the boat during mid-tide when […]
Sailing to Expelled Territory
On a breezy, sunny day three couples who never met had the time of their lives sailing the York River. We extended the run for an hour to enjoy the challenge of achieving speed on the water under sail. Tom and Ann Cook of Fairfax, Virginia, were unusually intriguing because he’s an accomplished sailor and […]
Sailing from Australia
My first Australian went sailing on the York River with his wife’s family. Sean Ironmonger said that one of the stereotypes is that Americans asked if he knew the late Steve Irwin, the crocodile hunter. “They can’t believe I never met him, so sometimes I just say, ‘Aye, we drink at the pub now and […]
Bachelorette Birthday Sail
On this day, the winds died down and clouds filled the air. Rain threatened off in the southeast. People ask, “Do you do birthday sails?” Mallory Beard took her friends and teammates from Hampton University out for her 20th birthday. Their volleyball team travels the country and plays 30 games over the course of the […]
What’s that Ship?
Drivers along the Colonial Parkway and the York River can’t help but notice an unusual ship docked for months at the US Navy base Cheatham Annex. From afar, the blue hull and white deck resemble a cruise ship, but up close one can see multiple radars and other intel equipment on deck. This is the […]
Sailing with History
Art Burdick and his fiancé Robin Miller enjoyed a dynamic sail off Yorktown on a blustery and cloudy day that eventually calmed down into sunny and smooth. They’re getting married next week at Wren Chapel on the campus of the College of William and Mary, where he got his history degree. He teaches history to […]
Sailing Past Ghosts
There’s the Ghost Fleet of reserve ships in the James River, down from hundreds of boats to around a dozen today. Then there are the ghosts of Williamsuburg, originally compiled in a book by the late L.B. Taylor Jr. He claimed to be agnostic about ghosts but went on to write more than a […]
Sailing Past History
I get asked, “Why did the colonists rebel in the 1770s?” While conveying the Battle of the Capes and the Siege of Yorktown to a group of six along the York River, Susan Jennaro got to talking about what a good job the interpreters do at Colonial Williamsburg. One thing they don’t have time to […]
Sailing for Merit Badge
Boys aren’t always the best on a sailboat, but Wendy and Rick Cehon’s were. They came from central Massachusetts for a vacation and went sailing along the York River on a beautiful morning. It turns out they’re scoutmasters. I showed them how one young man on an earlier cruise couldn’t pull a simple […]
Sailboat Wedding
Linda Dugan and Dennis Landry came all the way from arid Arizona to Virginia to get married on the water in a uniquely romantic setting. They chose Williamsburg Charter Sails to go out on the York River for their wedding ceremony. As we sailed to the middle of the river, almost miraculously several pods comprising […]
Sailing to Greece
Mary and Philip Kotsios of Chelmsford MA joined two other couples to sail the York River in a brisk breeze off Yorktown. We wound up sailing to Greece. “We are Greek-Americans and like to travel there,” Philip told us. “I hired a driver once who wanted $300 Euro for a tour. He asked if I […]
Learning in Rising Winds
In facHaving been a motorboat dude all his life, Steven Cucick of Littleton MA brought his wife Christine to Yorktown to learn how to sail on the York River. We covered all three points of sail: close reach, beam reach, broad reach. We did a heave-to for Man Overboard. He sailed in light and fluky […]
Sailing Beyond Superstitions
Sailing has numerous superstitions, but so does the theater. Todd Aberts took his family sailing near Williamsburg and talked about his work as production manager of the Raleigh Community Theater in North Carolina. “It’s bad luck to say Macbeth on stage because of a disastrous fire in England that killed many people and destroyed the […]
Sailing Your Heart Out
I like to convince men NOT to buy a sailboat. Their wives seem pleased by that. Bruce Queen of suburban Richmond is land-locked in Mechanicsville but loves to sail his heart out. He took Basic Keelboat Sailing from the American Sailing Association and had a blast. “I went the ASA Woodbridge Sailing School on the […]
Sailing to Major League Sports
Lisa and Bill Walters own and operate a sports store in suburban Baltimore called Wild Bill’s Apparel, where they cover all the major league sports. They also market as vendors for the Orioles and Ravens. They described some of the action while sailing with a family along the York River, south of Williamsburg. Bill […]
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 […]
Will I Get Seasick?
People occasionally ask, “Will I get seasick?” on a three-hour cruise along the York River. The answer is No, for several reasons. 1. We sail in a river, which almost never gets enough chop to make the boat pitch forward and backward. High seas with seven-foot waves (measured from top to bottom) are found 20 miles […]
Sailing Memories
Elizabeth Blatz and her friend Heidi Smith went sailing while visiting Williamsburg, and it brought back fond memories. “My parents had a 70-foot sailboat, built in Japan,” Elizabeth said. “The man who built it sailed it to the U.S. after the war and sold it. It presented as a magnificent boat and we kept it […]