Sailing to Bahrain
Before he ships out to Bahrain near Saudi Arabia this summer, US Coast Guard Chief Chris Cisneros and his wife Tamara vacationed in Williamsburg and took a leisurely sail along the York River on a warm spring afternoon. It was warm enough to feel like we were sailing to Bahrain. First he’ll spend a month in […]
Voyager Canoe
This is the second week of the Polynesian Voyager Canoe visiting Yorktown. John Raines of York River Yacht Haven was there for the creation. He joined the Williamsburg Area Learning Tree for a six-hour training day. “I was 20 years old in 1970 when they launched the Hokule-a in Hawaii. It was recreated to demonstrate […]
SAIL AVAILS
SAIL AVAILS – 757-876-8654 Sun May 1 – 11 am sold out, 2:30 RAIN Mon 2nd – 11 am OPEN, 2:30 pm OPEN Tue 3rd – 11 am sold out, 2:30 pm sold out Wed 4th– 11 am OPEN, 2:30 pm OPEN Thu 5th– 11 am OPEN, 2:30 pm sold out Fri 6th– 11 am […]
Bay Sailing
Two experienced sailors from Boston blew into Tidewater for a government contract job and chose to go Bay sailing with SailTime of Virginia Beach as a fun thing to do. That worked out well because Paul Metzger is a SailTime member who also has his 33-foot Hunter in charter with the Boston franchise. “They assign […]
Sailing Past C-Span
When people go sailing on the York River, they seek a unique and fun adventure that’s also educational. Sometimes they’re surprised to see “C-Span” in the form of the Coleman Bridge swinging open to let US Navy ships pass. Every ten days or so, and sometimes as frequently as twice a day, cruisers and […]
Navy Ship Transits
When she arrived from New Hampshire on vacation to take her mother and daughter sailing on the York River, the last thing Evelyn Hooper expected to see on a breezy afternoon was a US Navy warship. Up came the USS Nitze, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer. All three ladies got to watch as the Coleman Bridge […]
Sailing to Scholarships
Kyle Voors and Sarah Bevier drove up from Chesapeake to go sailing on the York in a brisk spring breeze. Kyle is in the Navy, and Sarah writes grants for the Access College Foundation of Norfolk. “We help minority students learn more about going to college by reaching out to them and their parents as […]
Sailing for Blood
Remember when giving blood was important because it was in short supply? Not any more, or at least not so much. Kenny and Anna Marie Lamberth of Clever, Missouri talked about the world of blood while sailing on a warm afternoon near Williamsburg with their friends Joy and James Mathias. The men switched operating the […]
Sailing into Retirement
They say you should phase in retirement and not do it cold turkey. John LaBossiere and his wife Trish have figured it out. They returned from a sail last spring on the York River to convey the new details of his retirement plan. He is finishing up work on his US Coast Guard captain’s license […]
Algonquin Round Table
During my newspaper career in Williamsburg, our daughters came to work occasionally after school. The company was a family-friendly place where kids learned to get organized and help out. It was kind of like sailing. Some children learned to type there. The risk was that a soda would spill on the keyboard, but it was […]
Sailing with the Navy
Sail Time’s operating waters in Willoughby Bay are surrounded by the US Navy, so it feels like we’re sailing with the Navy. A fleet of attack helicopters and smaller search-and-rescue helicopter ring the bay. Just to the north is Fifth Fleet, capped by aircraft carriers jutting into the skies of Hampton Roads. Meet Navy Lt. […]
Sailing Like Ike
Students in Sail Time’s basic sailing course ventured out of Willoughby Bay into the James River, past the USS Eisenhower. The aircraft carrier was back in port after eight sailors were injured in March when the arresting gear on the flight deck snapped during a routing landing of a jet fighter. I once had a […]
Ninth Anniversary Sail
Having never been to Williamsburg before, Brian and Meg Scoggins of Chattanooga set out on a ninth anniversary sail by venturing out on the historic York River in brisk winds rising to 15 mph. Brian had never sailed before, but he had gained some visual experience playing Empire Total War. That’s a popular video game that assigns […]
Testing Oneself Under Sail
You never know what your limits are for personal endurance, and sailing under extreme conditions is one test. So is joining the US Marine Corps. Kyle Turrentine of Roanoke went sailing on the York River on a crisp and sunny spring day with his fiancé Pauline Ferguson. He was content to sit quietly, having […]
Sailing Psychology
First-time sailors encounter different reactions based on their life experience, and it takes a little sailing psychology to figure it out. Golfers are better at the helm than tennis players. Men prefer the helm over women because they tend to be more adventurous and risk-prone. Dancers are better than singers. And so on with other […]
Soaring to Sail
While out cruising the York River, people on my boat are intrigued by the three-masted schooner Alliance, which is another way visitors go soaring to sail. “Is that your competition?” they ask. In fact, I have 76 competitors because that’s the number of things to do in Williamsburg according to Trip Advisor. (I’m No. 30 overall and […]
Teachers Sail
Two school teachers from Sunfield, Michigan went on their first extensive sailboat trip by venturing out into the York River on a warm and windy spring afternoon. Because the winds were coming from the south, we were able to cut through the waves and reach the “lee shore,” next to the Yorktown Battlefield, where the […]
Mother & Daughter Sail
Lidia Berger of Alexandria, Virginia, took time out from her engineering/architecture job to take her mother and daughter sailing on the York River near Williamsburg. She is pictured sitting with Nicole on the bow of the sailboat, with the Coleman Bridge in the background. As an engineer, Lidia was intrigued that the span swing sideways […]
Old Friends Sailing
Claire Fortier took her partner Maria Pialeat and one of their grown children and his girlfriend sailing on a brisk afternoon along the York River. Claire was an editor colleague of mine at The Virginia Gazette who wound up in California editing the South Lake Tahoe Tribune, where she also was elected to […]
Sailing into Surgery
“Did you know that a DNR doesn’t apply if you go into surgery?” That provocative notion was told by Joel Dixon, who with his wife Hamet works as an Operating Room nurse at the University of Virginia Hospital in Charlottesville. They were in Williamsburg for an afternoon sail on the York River with their daughter […]