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 License Plates
Drivers love to personalize their license plates, and that includes sailors. Virginia is a happy state of boating plates. Personalizing is inexpensive and very creative. The most popular plate replicates that of the owner’s boat, although sometimes that’s a mystery to the rest of the drivers on the road. We have a “Columbine” motor yacht […]
Measuring a New Sail
Here’s how to measure a sail for replacement. The easy fix is to measure the old sail, but that’s flawed by stretching and shrinking. Plus all three corners have to be pulled tight to get the truth. The only accurate way is to measure the mast and boom. Even then, it’s hard. As advised by […]
Sailing with a Rescue Dog
A young couple from metro New York took their friends sailing on the York River along with their dog Liberty. Meg Kelly said, “Liberty is mix of lab, boxer, pit bull and more. We’re not sure exactly because she’s a rescue dog. We thought of getting a second dog and calling her Justice. We live […]
Sailing with a Navy Vet
To narrate the Battle of the Capes, I pick out a sailboat in the distance that’s moving at a right angle to us. The idea is to show the “vanguard” strategy of how ships fought at sea in the 18th century. Reggie Jackson went sailing with family and friends along the York River on a […]
Sailing with Old Salts
Two experienced sailors on two separate sails proved that you don’t have to teach any tricks to a not-so-old salt. Linda Mauer visited the Williamsburg area with her husband and wanted to get back into sailing after 20 years. “I worked in SAR with the Coast Guard years ago,” she said, referring to Search & […]
Baptism of Sail Spray
A couple from Northern Virginia came to Williamsburg for the weekend to go sailing for the first time. They wound up getting a baptism of sail spray. Julie Koontz gave her husband Mike a unique birthday present of sailing the York River. On a bright, sunny day with steady winds of 12 mph, we […]
Sailing with Widows
A most unusual party of women went sailing on a bright and breezy day on the York River. Sarah Merwin said, “We are with a nonprofit that supports spouses who have lost a loved one in the military. Not all of us here are widows, some are friends and supporters.” Micaela Brancato and her husband […]
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 […]
Landlubbers Learn Sailing
A lovely couple from landlocked Staunton, Virginia, came to Let’s Go Sail on a beautiful Friday to learn the fundamentals. Kelly and Todd Armentrout once sailed on a Hobie Cat and found they love the idea of being out on the water, in the elements of the wind. They quickly relearned the close reach, […]
