Sailing past a Submarine

Submarines that are partially surfaced are hard to see, especially when they’re in dock. Sailing past a submarine can therefore be tricky.

Arelene and Marvin Birnbaum enjoy the great outdoors by camping. They live in the Hudson Valley of New York and thought they’d take a crack at sailing, since they live near the river in New Paltz.

We took their two sons out on a warm, windy day and promptly lost the baseball cap of their son Aaron. So we performed a man-overboard drill by heading back to the scene, circling the hat, and retrieving it with a boat pole. Later in the day Aaron lost the hat for a second time, so we reprised the procedure. That was a first.

We sailed under the Coleman Bridge, past the Naval Weapons Station. Only then was it apparent that a Navy submarine was in port, a rarity since the Navy prefers to load at sea while under sail. When we passed a second time on the way down river, a naval patrol boat ran a parallel course of interference between us and the sub. It has .50 caliber guns mounted on the bow.

Marvin found the sail exhilarating. “It’s a little like road biking. Once you turn off the engine you’re one with the machine in the peace and quiet of nature, while controlling the movement effortlessly.”

Let’s go sail. The season is now open for sailing on warm sunny days. To see the rates and reserve a date for a sailboat charter,  click here. To check out reviews from sailors,  click here. To become a crew member on a charter sail or to tell us your sailing story,  click here.