Navy Sail
For six weeks, we saw nary a Navy warship. Then two showed up within two days. Three days later, the first ship left to go out to sea. A New Hampshire couple was aboard, having taken their ASA 101 course on Lake Champlain. I thought it only fitting that the navigate under the Coleman Bridge […]
Childhood Sail
Some people have wonderful childhood sail memories, largely about their parents. While sailing the York with his wife Melissa, Ralph Leonard recalled his dad. “We sailed a trimaran off the coast of Florida to the Bahamas. I guest it took maybe a day. We stayed overnight on the beach and sailed back the next day. […]
Elegance of Sailing
People ask, “Can you sum up sailing in one word?” Yes. Except for polo, nothing beats the elegance of sailing. From the yacht club to the ocean and everywhere in between, sailing exudes a special ambiance and attitude that is hard to replicate elsewhere. Few sports compare to sailing. It lends itself to special occasions […]
Farming Sail
We get very few people from Oklahoma, so Melissa and R.T. Green of Leedey were a pleasant surprise. They took their grandson Brier out as part of a vast historical journey. “We were in Washington yesterday,” Melissa said, “and we’re doing Williamsburg and Yorktown here.” The winds were light but steady, a refreshing change from […]
Emergency Sail
Emergency Sail recounts tales of the ER and sunning deck, among other items.
Buccaneer Sail
Eight years ago, I took Lewis and Paula Volk of Kansas out sailing for their first big cruise. They returned this year with another couple and told a fascinating story. “We were looking to buy a bigger motorboat than the one we had. But the deal went sideways with the broker, and then we went […]
Southern Sail
For the second time in 11 years, we headed south to review venues to relocate or extend the charter sail business. The Carolinas offer a longer season, albeit with few tourists than Williamsburg. First, we stopped in Edenton NC where we took a 40-minute boat ride on Liber-Tea, an electric engine runabout under Capt. Mark […]
Policy Sail
Four family members from Richmond took a well-deserved day off to go sailing on the York. Temperatures in the 90s were offset by winds blowing a steady 15 mph and gusting over 20. It was so delightful and the conversation so intense that no one noticed the boat heeling past 20 degrees. We sailed around […]
Busy Sail
A quiet July morning led us to motoring under the Coleman Bridge to see two Navy warships in port at the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station. I pointed out the tubes between two square tents where the Tomahawk missiles fire. Their range is 2,000 miles, sufficient to bomb Iraq and Afghanistan from the Mediterranean Sea during […]
Educational Sailing
We got closer to the Kalmar Nickyl for the first of several educational sailing cruises. It’s the state ship of Delaware, heading out to sea after an extended stay at Yorktown. They gave tours to educate the public on how volunteers replicated the entire boat, based on a Swedish design. You wouldn’t want to go […]
