Navy Archives - Williamsburg Charter Sails

She Said Yes

While sailing the York River, Zedric Jose took Sopha Levy up to the bow and proposed marriage. She said yes, to great enthusiasm from a family also sailing. They are in the US Navy, she in Williamsburg and he in Mississippi. They hope to collocate when they get married. Stout Returns The guided missile cruiser […]

50th Surprise

A couple from Salisbury MD stayed at the Williamsburg Lodge 50 years after they honeymooned there. They took their grown children sailing on the York River and got the surprise of a lifetime. Submarine! Riverine sailors from Virginia Beach used two fast boats to clear the path for a US Navy sub coming up from […]

Nautical Chaos

Dozens of deadrises and hundreds of observers on land and sea mingled during the annual Battle of the Boats off Riverwalk Landing. It was hard to determine who won after several heats. The next day offered a unique contest to see how fast a deadrise can go in reverse while docking. Tradition Revived The Yorktown […]

Big Winds & Big Noise by Navy

I’m sometimes asked, “What’s it like to sail in big winds?” Adventurous, but the winds come and go. On this day, big winds for days suddenly calmed by the time Debbie Kremer of Arizona brought her beau Bob Wickley of San Antonio to sail the York River. We quietly tacked back and forth near Yorktown […]

Sailing with AARP

I get asked, “What’s the best publicity you ever got for sailing?” The best promotion I ever encountered was a page 1 piece in the AARP newspaper, supplemented by a terrific video. We had a blast sailing with AARP. Let’s go sail the York River, where couples enjoy a serene three hours. Take one of […]

Yorktown Monument

A couple enjoying a chilly sail recounted a Dad joke about the windchill scale. Let’s go sail the York River.

Set Sail into History

Members of Kingsmill Yacht Club are sitting in the catbird seat for two nautical extravaganzas during America’s 250th anniversary this summer. A Parade of Sail in Norfolk on June 19 will feature 60 ships and naval vessels from 20 countries, proceeding along the coast from Virginia Beach into Norfolk in a nearly 5-hour run. At […]

Opening Week

A family from metro Richmond got to see the USS Gonzales exit Yorktown to Norfolk and likely Iran.

Stuck Again

It took more than an hour for the USS Jason Dunham to transit the Coleman Bridge because it was stuck closed. Afterward, it got stuck at the end while closing. Traffic was backed up for miles in both directions. According to ChatGPT: Yes, the Coleman Bridge is experiencing extended delays due to a mechanical issue. […]

Sub Sighted

Two couples got to sail past a US Navy destroyer and then saw a submarine up close. Let’s Go Sail the York River.

Chicken Sailors

A Chesapeake family went on a week’s vacation at a B&B rental in Reedville, atop northeast Virginia. Then they went sailing. “We like it a lot in Reedville,” said the matriarch, Mary Gagnon. “We work very hard and needed time off. It’s very quiet in Reedville, and the kids can use kyaks on the water. […]

Sinking Sailboats

A Chesapeake couple who sailed previously with Let’s Go Sail returned with some friends and a story. “I have to tell you something,” Denise Osenbaugh said gravely when she arrived at the dock. “Yesterday we sank our sailboat.” What? “We were in Currituck Sound in North Carolina,” her husband Mark explained. “It’s a little 16-foot […]

York Sailing

Ever since 1982, a blind man has always wanted to be on the water sailing, and he did it here. Let’s go sail.

York Rescue

Let’s Go Sail alerted a nearby powerboat to rescue a stranded small sailboat with three people on board. They returned safely.

Siren Sail

While observing a US Navy ship in dock, Navy patrol boats zipped past while one had its siren screaming. Let’s go sail.

York Rescue

Three people were rescued by the Abington VFD when their small fishing boat capsized Saturday morning near the entrance to Sarah Creek on the York River. Later, the Conservation Police towed the wreck off the river. Running Aground Doug Drummond has sailed numerous times with Let’s Go Sail and recently reported on a boating accident. […]