The crew consisted of a family near Ashland VA who were celebrating Dad’s 50th birthday with their own summer maneuvers. All three children were in college, but they have been home during the Virginia Lockdown. 
The couple raise between 18 and 26 at a time, which reminded me of the ratio for teachers and classroom size. They live up to 20 years, so it’s a big loss when one dies. “They all look alike to you,” Stephen said, “but we quickly get to know them by name. And yes, we do name them.”
In the afternoon, a married couple from Norfolk celebrated some quietude from the work as a physician and chaplain. They stayed overnight at nearby Warner Hall. 
They were supposed to be in Hawaii on leave, but the military locked down leave to 50-miles to help contain the virus. “I think it’s 250 miles now,” Sarah said. “So Hawaii still didn’t work. Sailing with you was our second choice.”
On a whim, Tracy Burgess had her beau Carl Dunne look for a boat trip near where they were staying at the Virginia Beach oceanfront. He called me and within a few hours she got her wish. They sailed on a 7 mph easterly wind and spent several hours on the bow chatting. She’s retired from WaWa and he has a candle factory after being laid off from a glass plant. They were spending a few days here from their home in Salem NJ. “Between us we have seven children, ages 21 down to 8.” They looked like they needed a break. 
A few days later, also on a whim, Nicole Griffith of Kettering OH called to take her beau Jared Van Oss sailing on breezy afternoon. “He called me to go on a spontaneous three-day weekend, and I thought this would be fun along the way.” She works for a software company specializing in bankruptcy software. She loves the work, loves her colleagues, enjoys the challenge, and has learned a lot. I never met anyone so enamored by bankruptcy. 
Jared is 6-feet-4 and weighs 260. He works for a big freight company and used to play football. “I had a full scholarship to Michigan State, but I blew out my knee and badly tore a hamstring in high school. So they rescinded the scholarship. I wound up not going to college.” On the other hand, he also avoided major brain injury. “I had two concussions playing at Lima Senior High, so I consider myself lucky now after seeing what’s happened to players in the NFL.”Bonnie and I went to Gainesville for the wedding of our daughter Robin Ann O’Donovan to Christopher Chase Tucker. They’ve known each other for five years, and he has endeared himself to her children Remy and Ivan. It was a solemn yet festive occasion on a beautiful day, followed by
We saw a Navy sub for the first time this season, and the glare was obvious.
We got to see two Navy warships transit the Coleman Bridge in one day.
