For the first time in months, a tugboat with barge pulled into the York River near the old Yorktown Refinery. But it wasn’t carrying fuel. “This is a sugar barge,” the tug captain responded from the Ruby Coast on marine radio. It had the unusual name of KNOT REFINED. “We ducked in here for a few days on a run back to Florida to wait out the tropical storm coming up the coast.” Life at sea is better, but not in a storm. I asked him and two other barge tugboats where the fuel tugs are this year, and none of them knew.
Navy Sailor
Destinee Morris and Alexia Molina traveled from nearby Cheatham Annex to take sailing lessons on the York River. Alexa has served in the US Navy on a cruiser, but get this from Destinee:
“I served on the USS George W. Bush,” which is a giant modern aircraft carrier.” Did you get to run the helm? “I did. It’s a wheel, not a joystick. It’s a little smaller than yours, actually.” To her credit, she did an outstanding job on the helm in brisk winds and rising seas.
Retirement Sailors
A couple from Chesapeake got stuck in traffic but finally made it for a gang sailing lessons cruise.
Mark and Denise Osenbaugh plan to sell everything and sail a big catamaran into retirement. “We’ve been studying books and articles and watching videos as well,” Denise enthused. “We are eager to learn.” They both did well in the same seas as Destinee, heeling to 30 degrees at one point until we reefed the jib.
As I do every day, I pointed out that the Coleman Bridge swings instead of rises. “My company installed that bridge in 1998,” Mark said proudly. “They gave us 10 days and we did it in five, collecting a $1 million bonus for every day early.”
I explained to him that for the past several months the bridge has been getting stuck upon closing on the south side. No one will talk at VDOT because they probably aren’t allowed to by the US Navy, upriver at NWS.
“It’s probably because the steel joints are expanding in the heat,” Mark explained. It’s a standard problem and not the gears in the turrets. If that were the case, they would have to replace the entire bridge. You can just fix that.” I asked if there really is a big wheel they can turn manually to close the bridge. “Yes.” He also said his company is bidding to replace the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, knocked down by the mega-freighter Dali. “I’ve been involved with nearly every bridge in Hampton Road during my career. Now I’m turning toward sailing under bridges.”
Too Big
As we came in from a day sailing, a giant catamaran stood off R-2 at Sarah Creek. A conversation by marine radio found that the 80-f0ot Pronto was too wide and too deep to enter until high tide, some 4 hours later.
The next day, I found out from the marina staff that Preston, the deputy GM of YRYH, accompanied the skipper to Portsmouth instead, where Suntex’s marina could handle a bigger boat. They also had to clear customs, which they certainly could not have done at our place.
Horse Therapy
Nancie Roahrig moved from Arizona to Gloucester and took the History Cruise to learn more about the two key battles of 1781.
“I work in horse therapy,” she explained. “We take horses to nursing homes to help people relate and remember when they were around horses. We can take a Clydesdale and a small pony inside sometimes, as well as to a larger setting outdoors.”
According to an article in the Gloucester-Mathews Gazette-Journal, her nonprofit is called Step Up into T.L.C. (Therapeutic Loving Caballos) Inc.:
Step Up began as a carriage company in 1997 with a Clydesdale named “Lenny.” The company became a nonprofit in 2006 when Roahrig decided to focus on pet therapy after taking Lenny to visit a friend’s daughter in the hospital with cancer. Now she travels with her horses to bring therapy to people in nursing homes, hospitals and hospice facilities.
“They’re so therapeutic,” said Roahrig.
Step Up currently has three horses who travel for therapy. “Jumping Jack” (also known as “JJ”) is a 2,000-pound Clydesdale, “Dillon” is a pony who is able to give rides, and “Buddy” is a miniature horse that wears Build-A-Bear Workshop shoes when he is indoors to keep carpets clean and stay steady on tiled floors.
“It’s incredible the work that they do,” she said.
Family Sail
Thomas and Janie Staples of Couer d’Alene ID took their three young girls and his aunt sailing on the York on a brisk afternoon. He honed his skills in advance of taking ASA courses out West. They comprised the Most Beautiful Family of the 2024 season, and the girls were equally well-behaved and articulate.
Dog Sail
Two buddies from grade school 70 years ago went sailing on the York in light but steady winds. Rick Ricciardi was determined to get a photo of his bulldog Rigatoni at the helm. “He’s gone with me on boats all over the world,” he said.
“He’s my psychiatric service animal, which required an interview by a psychiatrist — of me, not him. It was supposed to take an hour, but the psychiatrist closed her pad after ten minutes and said I was certified. This is different from an emotional support animal, which you need for flying on a plane or getting a home in certain circumstances.
“I had to go to the Chrysler Building for the psych interview. It’s my favorite building in the world. At the time of construction, they were in a race with the Woolworth Building to become the tallest in the world. When the Woolworth topped out, over at the Chrysler they added stainless steel plates to the top to make it taller and more distinctive. There were no cranes in the 1930s, so they had to haul the plates up from ground and build them from within.”
I mentioned that they did all that without computers, similar to Hoover Dam. “Did you know,” Rick added, “That the last worker to die at the construction of the Hoover Dam was the son of the first worker to die.”
Best T-Shirt
Steve Otero of Bristow VA wins the Best T-Shirt Award of the summer for his natty if ratty statement on productivity.
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Buoy Repair
We sailed past R-24 as a USCG boat was attempting some sort of repair. It looked like they were putting a covering on, but that made no sense since the thing has sat there for years with nothing more than a paint job.
Fish Story
They held the 2nd annual Cobia Tournament at York River Yacht Haven, in which 51 boats zoomed out the river and into the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean in search of the biggest fish. They had to report back by 4 pm to weigh in and qualify. Tents offered all kinds of merchandise and encouragement.
The winner weighed 54 lbs., I found out the next day. But wait. Scott Rainey, a fellow captain and boat owner at the marina, told me the best/worst part.
“A buddy of mine took his gal fishing but didn’t sign up for the tournament. Either it was too expensive, or he just didn’t want the pressure.” Scott stopped to show me a photo on his phone. “He caught a cobia weighing 72 pounds! He would have won. What’s more, she caught one weighing more than the winner in the women’s category. That $7,500 each, or $15,000.”
Let’s Go Sail
Check Couples and Family rates and pick a day for a sailboat charter. Scroll down reviews on Trip Advisor. Go back to the home page of Williamsburg Charter Sails.
The best Williamsburg boat tour offers safe “social distance sailing” daily for up to 6 people. It’s an extraordinary experience for couples. Leave your worries behind. Enjoy the thrill of moving with the wind without a care in the world. Put life back on an even keel with a romantic experience for a birthday or anniversary. 3-hour sailboat cruise as a semi-private yachting charter lets you exhale and relax as you enjoy comfort, stability and speed.
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