Couples Enjoy Sailing
I get asked, “How far down in the water do the buoys extend?” Those two USCG buoy tenders were still there at the Yorktown Training Center, and today the classroom work had moved outside. As we sailed past, we got to watch them pick up a red buoy off the deck and extend it over […]
Sailing the Great Loop
People ask, “What’s the Great Loop?” One of the most ambitious sailing adventures in America is the Great Loop, essentially up the East Coast to New England, down the St. Lawrence into the Great Lakes and on to Chicago, down the Mississippi to the Gulf, and across to Florida. Meet David and Susan Houghland of […]
Sailing Yorktown
People ask, “What’s the deal with pirates?” Pirates prevailed at Yorktown on Saturday as the Schooner Virginia and RV Virginia sailed into port. The 122-foot schooner went bankrupt years ago and was revived by the Nauticus Foundation, home-ported there in Norfolk. The big white Virginia was just christened as the newest research vessel by VIMS, […]
Sailing Toward Fall
On a serene York River that slowly came to life as the wind built, we sailed past the lower range light at Yorktown to show how it has become obliterated. A vacant osprey nest has collapsed over the lens, leaving it nearly obscured to ship traffic. I notified the Coast Guard and sent them a […]
Celebrating Summer by Sailing
Celbrating Summer by Sailing inform couples and families how to enjoy private charters on the York River.
Skimming Along Lake Toho
Of all the boating our family has enjoyed over the years, we have never gone on an airboat. While on vacation in Florida, our son-in-law Trevor Phillips booked us for a unique and private two-hour adventure tour of the marshy shores around Lake Tohoperaliga near Orlando. Trevor knows how much we enjoy boating. “We call […]
Sailing Metaphors
You can improve your life by applying sailing metaphors.
Make-A-Wish Sailing
A Texas family sponsored in Williamsburg by the Make-A-Wish Foundation wound up their vacation with an outdoor adventure by going sailing on the York River. Earlier we got rained out but rescheduled the next day under cloudy and cool conditions. It was actually quite pleasant. Because Let’s Go Sail is ADA compliant, I moved the […]
Honeymoon Sailing
To wind up their honeymoon week in Williamsburg, Jennifer Griffith and Bob Moran went sailing on a serene York River. A morning rain blew past and we motored out to a glassy sea that barely rippled from light winds. An incoming tide slowly drifted us upriver toward the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. Jennifer is […]
Sail Annapolis
On the way to St. Michael’s, we stopped off in Annapolis to check on the Back Creek side of town. Annapolis bills itself as America’s Sailing Capital with a tradition of centuries behind it. Everywhere you turn, nautical terms and the boats they refer to are found all over town. Across the bridge downtown lies […]
Go Navy!
To fully appreciate the US Navy plowing up the York River to the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station, you have to see the ships at their base. The last time I transited Norfolk Naval Base was in February 12 years ago when Greg Smith helped me sail the NTM 320 Hunter up from Waterside. I hired […]
Sailing Second Time Around
Love is better the second time around, and so is sailing. Carol Logue and John Campbell of suburban Richmond reprised their cruise from August on a much cooler and blustery day along the York River. Winds out of the east grew from 10 mph to 15 mph as we sailed directly out the river on […]
Sailing Past 2 Navy Ships
ai Monday is often arrival day for warships transiting from Norfolk Naval Base to Yorktown Naval Weapons Station. A family visiting Williamsburg from the Finger Lakes region of New York rode out on Sarah Creek in great anticipation. Right away we ran into a pod of dolphins in the creek. Apparently the high seas churned […]
Boating Stories, Good & Bad
Stephanie King stopped off in Williamsburg from North Carolina on her way to Alexandria to take her two children sailing. “It’s the first time he’s been on a boat since the accident last year. He was evacuated from the water and spent five days in ICU,” she said of her son Alek. “A big motorboat […]
Girls’ weekend getaway
A unique idea for a girls’ weekend getaway is to go sailing. Many’s the time I’ve had pals show up spontaneously for three-hour afternoon sail. Mothers and daughters find sailing a bonding experience as well. Get out of the parking lot and on to the water. The Adventure Cruise is the most popular, offering a […]
Sailors with Boating Friends
A couple from Northern Virginia left their teenagers at home for a one-day adventure to drive south and go sailing on the York River. Katie and Sam Mangrio are in real estate, so we got to talking about flipping houses. “We’ve only done that once,” Sam said cautiously. “A lot can go wrong, so you […]
Sailing to Serendipity
A couple eager to sail hard on a windy day joined a family who thought they were just going for an outing on the York River. The result was sailing to serendipity. Cathy and Steve Kirby vacationed in Williamsburg from their home near Charlotte. “I have a 26-foot Hunter that’s trailerable with the water ballast. […]
Mindfulness through sailing
A special impact of sailing is the new rubric of mindfulness. It is simply abandoning one’s worries of the day in the moment of appreciation—while under sail. Call it Zen. Other modern concepts of psychology termed this The Zone. Writers get into The Zone when they find themselves caught up in their text, moving quickly and effortlessly […]
Memories of Six-Meter Sailboats
Two couples from Arlington came to Williamsburg and celebrated their dual anniversaries by sailing the York River. They navigated a beautiful east wind that eventually turned to a light rain. A Florida sailor and her friend joined us in a fast day of excitement. Denisse Paz reluctantly took the wheel instead of her beau Jay Sasporlas, […]
Sailing Past Ike
Phil Sorsky flew in from London and went sailing the next day with his friend David on Willoughby Bay and the James River. We cruised past the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, under repairs at Norfolk Naval Base. Phil is an executive with a worldwide company that builds telecom towers. “We are based in Great Britain and […]