Let’s go sail the York River, where couples enjoy a serene three hours. 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. Take one of 6 sailing adventures near the Chesapeake Bay for your best vacation excursion: Adventure, Event, Appreciation, History, Lessons, Boat Buying. Sit in the catbird seat or up on the bow.
People ask, “What’s the best point of sail?” Well, the close reach is the fastest but downwind under spinnaker is simply glorious.
If the wind is right, the best Williamsburg boat tour offers spinnaker 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.
Three hours of sailing on the York River often involves tacking back and forth off the wind as we make way eastward in a zig-zag going downriver toward the Chesapeake Bay. We are sailing off the wind by about 30 degrees on an east wind. Upon turning around to come back, the effect of the wind diminishes on the sails because of the new angle of the wind. We are essentially going with the wind behind us, precisely zero mph in light winds.
We need to go spinn sailing.
This is a giant sail, bigger than the genoa and mainsail combined. We raise it in a cloth chute from the mast and set three corners with shackles Then we pull the chute up to let the wind fill the sail from behind. It’s a cliché of good luck to wish “the wind at your back,” but the wind is useless at your back unless it’s blowing 20 mph (very rare) or unless you’re under spinnaker in light winds (more likely). The photo at left shows that the spinn is well off the starboard side of the boat. (This is my classic spinnaker photo used in marketing.)
Unlike traditional sailing with heeling of 15-20 degrees, the spinnaker keeps the boat flat on the water on an even keel. 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 & speed.
Around the York River with three marinas, I estimate that only one in three sailboats has a spinnaker on board. Only half of them use it. The effort requires teamwork and timing because the spinnaker and all the lines need to be off the boat. The lines and sheet should never touch the shrouds or spreaders of the boat for fear of tearing. Unlike the other sails, this one is paper thin and tears easily. It is essentially a parachute made of parachute nylon.
The spinn has only three points of attachment, which is why it’s so tricky. There is no forestay to keep it steady.
HEAD — The spinn halyard attaches to the top of the sail, called the head. It’s important to pull the chute all the way up to the top of the mast because otherwise the whole thing can sag and diminish power. Even one foot short of the top can make a difference, so pull it up tight. Mark the headsheet with a piece of tape that indicates you’ve reached the top.
TACK — The tack attaches to the foot, and often has room to rise as much as 5 feet to reach higher toward light winds. Let’s Go Sail keeps a permanent tack line attached to the front that adjusts from the cockpit. You can raise and lower the height to adjust to the wind. Generally, the higher the tack the less the control and the spinn begins to wobble. In the photo at left, the tack is about 3 feet, which is fine. It flies high enough to catch the wind at the top, but low enough to maintain control.
CLEW — The clew attaches to the sheet. Unlike the genoa, the sheet extends farther back to blocks at the aft of the boat to reach the optimum angle of full tilt. Let’s Go Sail maintains starboard and port clew sheets for easy deployment. When gybing, we drop the chute and flip it around the forestay. We change clews as the boat turns, then pull the chute back up. This differs from racing, when one long clew sheet is used to gybe.
Asymetrical spinnakers are more popular than symmetrical because the asym requires no pole nor poleman to transfer the foot while gybing. The asym often has the corners marked Head, Tack, Clew to ensure we get it right. Reversing the tack and clew can make for some hilarious photos.
Mainsail Pulled In
The photo in the main illustration shows the view from below the boom, looking upward. You can see through the mainsail because it has been pulled in tight to avoid blanketing the spinnaker. In extremely light winds of 3 mph, you may have to take in half the main to keep it from blanketing the spinn to fall apart.
Sailing downwind on the spinnaker is amazing. It’s much quieter because the wind moves with us and there are few waves from the wake. One has to keep close tabs on the spinn so it doesn’t collapse from a wind shift. Keep hands on the sheets at all times. People who’ve never seen a sailboat under spinnaker become dazzled by the adventure of it all. On top of everything else, you look terrific! That’s the beauty of spinn sailing.
To be sure, running on the spinnaker not for everyone, and not every day. They say you can never be too rich or too thin, but you can have too much wind. If you can see whitecaps, that’s too much wind to go spinn sailing. But it doesn’t matter because if you can see whitecaps you’ll have plenty of downwind to get back anyway.
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.
It bears repeating that the spinnaker should be flown only in light winds. The video below shows what can happen if too much wind overwhelms the spinnaker. Midway through the compilation you’ll see the errant spinn pick up an entire racing buoy and take it down the course. Racers should know better, but then they are racing. On a good day, the scene is spectacular when numerous boats make the final turn and all pop their spinnakers at once. The second video shows the proper procedures for flying an asymmetrical. Other videos show how to fly the symmetrical.
Let’s Go with Spinn Sailing
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Find happiness and health outdoors near Williamsburg with exciting fun on an anniversary or birthday. Great memories! Learn navigation to become a sailor. See birds, dolphins, maybe a Navy submarine. Bring your dog too. Let’s go on a romantic sail. Sit up on the bow for privacy. First-timers or skilled mariners can learn to sail fast on a cruise Near Williamsburg VA. They get to sail a modern 32-foot sailboat in a unique setting of wildlife and Spring foliage. Professional photos for free. Enjoy a romantic getaway. Sail the warm breezes of Spring and Summer. A unique and intriguing event, as well as an extraordinary anniversary idea.
spinn sailing spinn sailing spinn sailing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXDwgcA38cs
spinn sailing spinn sailing spinn sailing
Let’s Go on a Romantic Sail. Sit up on the bow for privacy. First-timers or skilled mariners can learn to sail fast on a cruise Near Williamsburg VA. They get to sail a modern 32-foot sailboat in a unique setting of wildlife and Spring foliage. Professional photos for free. Enjoy a romantic getaway. Sail the warm breezes of Spring and Summer. A unique and intriguing event, as well as an extraordinary anniversary idea. Take one of 6 sailing adventures near the Chesapeake Bay for your best vacation excursion: Adventure, Event, Appreciation, History, Lessons, Boat Buying. Sit in the catbird seat or up on the bow.
The best Williamsburg boat tour offers safe 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.
Ideal for Couples
Our York River sailboat tour offers an unforgettable boat adventure that is ideal for couples. Choose from five unique sailing charters: Adventure, Lessons, History, Boat Buying, Real Estate. We provide sailing for everyone. Couples enjoy the romance, and families enjoy the adventure. See openings at williamsburgchartersails.com under Book A Cruise.
UNIQUE: Williamsburg sailing charter and York River sailing lessons offered for all ages. Avoid the crowd with small-group, personalized and instructional service. Gain expert advice and instruction, individualized for your needs, especially couples sailing lessons.
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