Memorial Sails

Among the unique cruises offered at Let’s Go Sail are Memorial Sails for loved ones. Nancy Blount of Williamsburg took her family out on a calm morning to bury at sea the ashes of her beloved brother Johnny.

They chatted at length about how Johnny loved the Chesapeake and fished in all its rivers around Tidewater. They recalled his affection for them as nieces and nephews. One of the quipped, “He was probably a better uncle than a friend.” We stopped the boat and downloaded the step so they could open the bag and scatted the ashes. “Goodbye, Johnny,” Nancy said quietly. Afterward they posed for a family picture as another way of remembrance.

The next day, the family of Master at Arms Petty Officer 3^rd Class Lyndon Joel Cosgriff-Flax gathered at the marina to head out to Yorktown Naval Weapons Station. They attended a service on base earlier in the morning for Lyndon, who died in a training accident in April. They wanted to be on the York near where it happened.

Glen Bednarz, Lyndon’s unit commander at the time, accompanied the family as we motored under the Coleman Bridge. He pointed out the lean-to where Lyndon’s patrol boats were stored. His father, Corey Flax, talked about how much L.J. (as he called him) enjoyed boating and the water. “I look out here at what he saw while protecting the base, and it strikes me that it was a good view, a good life.”

His mother, Stephanie Cosgriff, took over the helm as well as we passed the base pier. Glen said, “It was somewhere here where the accident occurred.” They were doing night training when Lyndon fell off the boat. In their frantic effort to rescue him in cold water, they inadvertently ran over him.

We set up the sails and slowly tacked back downriver. I asked Glen if he could take the helm. “Believe it or not, yes. I used to be chief helmsman on the Midway in the 1980s.” That was astonishing. “Yes, late at night at sea, my buddies and I would oversteer the carrier to see if we could make it sway. The OD wasn’t around, and no one else could feel it, but we could just slightly.”

Sailing to Soar

In the afternoon, Kathleen Harmon of Hampton took her three daughters sailing as the wind picked up. At the helm, her daughter Valerie talked about living in Alburquerque NM. “The Balloon Fiesta is held every year in the first week of October. An estimated 500,000 to 600,000 people show up, so you have to get your hotel tickets nine months in advance. They have hundreds of balloons and have capped them at 700 for safety reasons.

“It’s all very scenic, and they have different events. One is to see if anyone can grab the keys to a new car that are hooked atop a long pole. Another event is to see how far they can go on one can of fuel (to heat the air). I rode in a balloon only once, and found it rather noisy when they fire up the fuel. Otherwise, it’s very quiet.” It was very quiet on the York as well until we heard dolphins nearby. Funny how one hears them before seeing them.

Sailing Memories

Steve and Pam Tousseau of Clayton NC visited Williamsburg and went on a sailing adventure. Pam took the helm in excellent, warm winds of 10 mph, having sailed as a child on a Sunfish. Steve spent a lot of time as a youngster around the waters of Los Angeles.

“My family is originally from San Pedro, pronounced Peed-row. I grew up there 50 years ago because my father was a longshoreman at the Port of Los Angeles. He started out in the hole of the ship, where the worst freight were bananas. They had tarantulas!

“He worked his way up the ladder to dispatcher to foreman and so on. He was in the longshoremen’s union, and when he retired he asked if I wanted his ‘book’ of experience, which would give me a leg up in the union. I declined, preferring to do other work. He had a good career, a good pension, a good life”

As the Vietnam began to wind down, Steve commanded a Navy unit of helicopters during 1971-72 that were deployed as mine sweepers. “The North Vietnamese agreed to free a lot of our POWs if we agreed to sweep Haiphong harbor for mines. We flew over the water trailing a wire and a depth charge or in some cases an electrical charge to set them off. Most of them were inert, so it wasn’t too bad.” Still, it sounds harrowing.

Political Sail

Robin Mattson of Toano VA took four of her gal pals sailing on a sunny, breezy Sunday afternoon. Robin is a printing contractor and the others are into various forms of publishing. They are all savvy Washington politicos, so I asked one when she thought Biden would bow out.

“He just did,” she told me, and my jaw dropped. “That was my reaction as well.”

As Robin helmed through rising winds and seas, we discussed who Kamala Harris would pick for Vice President. It turned into a game of elimination as everyone weighed in.

“There are competent women, but she’s already a woman. Likewise with Blacks. You can’t pick a senator or a congressman because that might cost the Democrats the seat in the general election. The margins are too close to threaten them with a loss. Mark Kelly of Arizona would be great, and he’s former military and an astronaut! But he has to care for his wife Gabby, who is still recovering from getting shot in the head.

“That leaves the Democratic governors. Gavin Newsome is obvious from California, but it would violate California law to have two people running from the same state. (RFK Jr. has a similar problem, since he claims New York as his residency but really lives in California.) Gov. Gretchen Witmer would help carry Michigan, but that would put two women atop the ballot.”

“That leaves Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Gov. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, and Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota. Among those, only Shapiro is from a crucial swing state.”

I suggested George Clooney, since he has huge name recognition and Q favorables. “He won’t do it,” they agreed. Regardless, we narrowed the deck within 15 minutes of conversation. “Meanwhile,” political operative Pat Lewis said while scrolling her phone, “The DNC is timing this so that endorsements for Kamala are rolling in every 2o minutes, without overlapping.” Sailing is exciting!

Women enjoy sailing today more than ever, and particularly a romantic cruise. Couples get to enjoy a romantic getaway as they sit up on the bow for privacy, and Let’s Go Sail provides professional photos for free. First-time or skilled mariners are welcome to sail a modern-32-foot sailboat in a unique setting of wildlife and Fall foliage or Spring bloom. It makes for an extraordinary anniversary idea.

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.