Sailing to a Common Cause
At the outset of the Revolutionary War, the differences between the 13 American colonies seemed insurmountable and the likelihood of them uniting together appeared impossible. The leaders of the Revolutionary movement recognized that they would need a “common cause” to unify colonists politically from Bunker Hill to Yorktown. In “The Common Cause: Creating Race and Nation […]
Sailing Past Cuba Gooding Jr.
Gregory Schon of Newport News took his wife Carol sailing on the York for their 15th anniversary. With sails reefed in warm 15-18 mph winds from the southwest, he celebrated appropriately by reaching 15.7 mph. Carol is a retired lab technician who moved up the hospital and corporate ladder to get into sales, traveling the […]
How Do They Get on the Sailboat?
This ridiculous picture is from Willoughby Harbor Marina in Norfolk. The place has seen better days, having been battered by a few hurricanes and numerous nor’easters over the years. The photo lends new meaning to the term boat slip. I teach at Willoughby for the American Sailing Association, and their two boats are docked at […]
American Revolution in Art
Next time you visit the U.S. Capitol Building, stand in the massive Rotunda and you will be surrounded by eight historical paintings. Revolutionary War veteran John Trumbull painted four of them, including the British surrender at Yorktown, (which figures big on the History Cruise of Let’s Go Sail.) In “Of Arms and Artists: The American Revolution through […]
How Charter Sailing Started
Special to the KCSA Bulletin In retirement, Kingsmill resident Bill O’Donovan has pursued a charter boat business to share the joy of sailing. It all started on the beach of Kingsmill years ago when Bill and Bonnie Tully met. “He took me out one afternoon on a 14-foot Sunfish, and we sailed all the way […]
Big Winds, Big Noise by Navy
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 and got under the Coleman Bridge before mild winds clocked northwest and picked up sharply. For someone who had never been […]
Sailing Past a Navy Freighter
Monday’s sail was canceled due to high winds, a first. Tuesday’s sail presented stiff winds but more easily managed by reefing the main and keeping the Genoa furled. Longtime civic activist Margaret Fowler brought two friends from Southern California who were visiting Williamsburg so they could experience the excitement of the York River. They had […]
Sailing the York, Recalling the Navy
John Wilson of Virginia Beach took a break studying for his Virginia bar exam by taking four of his five children sailing on the York River. They arrived at a sunny and very breezy marina, and everyone donned life preservers. During the sail, the kids alternated going up on the bow with their dad, one […]
Correcting 6 Myths About Sailing
HARD TO LEARN—This is a hardy chestnut promoted by motorboat dudes, for whom heavy lifting comprises a case of beer. In fact, sailing is easy to learn because the principals are fairly straightforward. Once you realize how the wind affects the sail, it seems quite logical. There is a certain intellectual challenge to sailing, but […]
Opening Day 2018 Sailing Season
Two couples from metro Richmond enjoyed opening day of the 2018 sailing season with a three-hour cruise in brisk winds and sunny skies. They alternated sitting up on the bow, where excitement meets romantic contemplation. Amy Lane took her beau Steve Litton sailing on his 42nd birthday. He said, “The last time we went sailing […]
