Houston Problem

The Howell family enjoyed a beautiful afternoon sailing on the York River, near Williamsburg. After all these years, the three sisters retain varying degrees of their native Georgia accent. That led to a generalization that people outside the South find the drawl charming in women but not so much among men. It could be that […]

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 […]

Will You Marry Me?

Will You Marry Me?

Sean Kosmann brought Jessica Pettrey to Williamsburg and took her sailing on a bright fall afternoon, where he proposed to her in an elegant romantic setting. He escorted her up on the bow of the boat and got down on bended knee (made difficult by recent knee surgery) to offer a fabulous diamond engagement ring. […]

Made in America

Some amazing people enjoy sailing when they aren’t saving society. Megan Key and Justin Gerner enjoyed sailing the York River on a warm fall day as they prepare for their wedding. Years ago, Megan’s grandfather and uncle complained about poor service at their VA hospital. One day she accompanied a second uncle to the VA […]

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 […]

Boating Dangers

As they sailed into brilliantly orange sunset off Yorktown, Ann and David Gross recalled a harrowing experience while boating on Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. They were proceeding at 10-15 mph in their 20.5-foot Bayliner one night. Then they nearly T-boned another boat because it had no navigation lights showing. There are several lessons […]

Sailing to Civility

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 […]

Sailing with Old Friends

Pam Martin took Tony Telesmanic out for an early evening sail. She raises show horses and they both are high-powered office supply execs. He used to be a Navy SEAL. He looked every bit the part, with a build so strack for his age, which I put around 50. Once when Tony was serving on […]

Key Sailors

arais

People ask, “Is it hard to fly a spinnaker?” Aron and Caryn Arias took their boys sailing on the York and helped deploy the colorful spinnaker on the bow for running downwind. Aron and Ben (right) have sailed with Boy Scouts in the Florida Keys. Alex ran the helm as Ben raised the spinnaker. The […]

Wednesday Night Races

People ask, “Do you race?” No. Here in 2013 we dodged the Wednesday night sailboat races (in background).But they were colorful as boats of different sizes popped their spinnakers going on the downwind track. This is group of timeshare concierges and activities directors. They took a complimentary “fam tour” or familiarization tour to better promote […]