Sailing Past Ike
Phil Sorsky flew in from London and went sailing the next day with his friend David on Willoughby Bay and the James River. We cruised past the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, under repairs at Norfolk Naval Base.
Phil is an executive with a worldwide company that builds telecom towers. “We are based in Great Britain and have people working in Chile, India, China, all over. I was in charge of a big training exercise and decided that since I travel so much I should have this one at home, in my little town outside London.
Sailing Past Ike“The head of the training component was from Texas. I asked if we could take an hour off one day for something special and he refused. ‘The schedule is very tight, and we can’t afford the time.’ I kept pushing and he wouldn’t budge. Finally he said, ‘I wouldn’t give up an hour except for the queen.’ I smiled.
“By sheer coincidence, Queen Elizabeth II was coming to our little town to visit. On the appointed day at the appointed hour, we broke training and went outside for a surprise. All we had to do was walk to the corner. We waited a few minutes and here she comes. Everyone waved, and the queen waved back, and we went back to training. I think the whole thing took 30 minutes. Our people had assembled from all over the world, and they got to see the queen.”
We sailed along the James, contemplating other coincidences in our lives. That one was the best of the day.

Let’s Go Sail

Check rates and pick a day for a sailboat charter. See reviews on Trip Advisor. 

Sailing Past Ike Sailing Past Ike Sailing Past Ike Sailing Past Ike Sailing Past Ike

Sailing Past Ike

More from the Captain...

Navy Ship Arrives

Navy Ship Arrives

A West Viginia family got to see a US Navy missile cruiser transit Yorktown to the Naval Weapons Station. Let’s go sail.

Full Story >
Cleaning Up

Cleaning Up

The National Park Service has been removing invasive bamboo from the shoreline of historic Yorktown. Good luck with that. In a related note, I asked York County about the moorings off Yorktown. One is sinking (at right) and another is listing badly (below). Capt. James Scruggs, dockmaster at nearby Riverwalk

Full Story >