Sailing Crazy
“Right out of college, I worked for the state of New Hampshire under Governor Mel Thomson. He was crazy. One time he shut down the entire state government so everyone could search for his favorite pen because he lost it. He found out the next day that his brother had inadvertently taken it off his […]
Sailing for Show
“Whenever we do an evolution [event] of 15 or 20 ships at sea, we have to take photos to show the formations and the ships. Sometimes we have to get within 400 yards with ships on each side to get good photos, and that’s difficult to do while moving at 13 knots on the open […]
Sailing from Saigon
People ask, “Where’s the farthest that people have come to sail?” Hue and Hung Ngo of Fairfax took their 9-year-old son sailing on a quiet day on the York River, long removed from their native Vietnam. They emigrated in the mid-1990s after eight years of processing by the communist government. “No siblings allowed to leave […]
Sailing to Jamestown
People ask, “Is Jamestown worth visiting?” “Emma’s third-grade teacher led us to go to Historic Jamestowne, with her enthusiasm for the nation’s founding,” said Christine Erickson as her four children scampered about the boat while sailing the York River. Unbeknownst to them, Jamestown and Colonial Williamsburg have invested heavily to bring educators here from every […]
Sailing with Bernoulli
I get asked all the time, “How does a sailboat sail against the wind?” Albeit counterintuitive, sailboats have to stay close to the angle of the wind to get the most power and speed. It’s explained by Bournelli’s Principle in which air going over one surface of an object (the mast) is faster than the […]
Sailing into Genealogy
People ask, “Do you do family reunions?” Michael and Julie Curnick of rural Tennessee traveled to Ireland recently. They went for a reunion of family members from all over the globe. Here they went sailing along the York River with their son and his friends. Julie related how many of them at the reunion had […]
Sailing into Port
People ask, “What’s it like to see the bridge open?” The opening of the Coleman Bridge is a nuisance for drivers, but from out on the water it looks fabulous. Lois Anne and J.Q. Anders of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, joined Mary and Rob Yeager of Scottdale, Pennsylvania, on an afternoon sightseeing cruise in which a […]
Sailing by Feel
Sometimes I get asked, “Can blind people sail?” Wayne Kislinburg is a retired Navy lieutenant commander whose final sail before retirement was to bring a submarine tender under the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco Bay. He later developed macular degeneration and is now legally blind, but you’d never know it. At the encouragement of […]
Kalmar Nyckel at Yorktown
Delaware’s state ship Kalmar Nyckel roared up the York River under motor (and with aft flag unfurled) to visit Yorktown briefly. This is a recreation of the ship that brought Peter Minuit to Delaware in 1638 to settle the colony. It remained largely a merchant ship except for occasional war duty, when all 12 cannon […]
Racing and Sailing
I get asked, “Do you race?” Bob Davies told me while sailing that he once got to race a Jaguar XKR up to 170 miles per hour on a track. It was rated at 150 mph but was juiced up by the factory. (I explained how my sailboat was juiced up to exceed the 7 […]
Sailing Upright
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrW7avH8PjA People ask, “Is extreme sailing dangerous?” This YouTube video shows how perilous it can be to sail a performance catamaran, such as found in the 2014 America’s Cup. By 2021 they were attaching the air foils to sloops for racing. The Vendee World was nearly all foiled sloops. Better that you stay with a […]
Sailing Surprise Birthday
Larry Alan Smith (far left) of Avon, Connecticut surprised his wife Margarita (at the wheel) with a birthday sail in 2014 off Yorktown. Among the family attending were their son Chris (William & Mary ’07), a former executive with JP Morgan Chase who’s starting a micro-brewery in Williamsburg; and their son Will, (W&M ’14) who’s […]
Tale of Two Couples
Two couples sailing the York River enjoyed opposite timelines. Jan and Bill Spendley have been married 52 years and do nearly everything together. Tyrell Gardner and his date Shawna are engaged to marry . Tye is finishing up his master’s on the way to medical school. That left us in awe for his dedication. We […]
Dedicated Sailor
Wayne and Connie Bentel found sailing the York River much easier than his career of 40 years teaching special-ed, where among other things he helped develop community homes for teenagers. He must have had the patience of Job all those years. “Only at work,” he laughed, looking lovingly at her. Connie and her family of […]
Sailing to Civility
Two Long Island families enjoyed an afternoon of sailing while discussing a wide range of issues. The two girls are entering seventh grade at the Latin School of Kellenberg Memorial High School, where the Marist Brothers “train the mind and educate the heart in patterns of civility, order and respect,” according to the website. Students […]