New Yorktown musuem
This month marks the 235th anniversary of the British surrender at Yorktown, and with it came the opening of the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown. (It’s not be confused with the bigger museum opening next year in Philadelphia.) The place is laid out nicely except that the main gallery that is open is something of […]
Before Yorktown
The Battle of Yorktown didn’t just happen. Douglas Cummings gave an excellent prelude as part of the Christopher Wren Association fall 2016 series. Nearly all 250 seats at the Williamsburg Library auditorium were full. Cummings is an amateur historian who has spent 17 years volunteering at the battlefield for the National Park Service. Besides the […]
Sailing Chesapeake Bay
Living in Williamsburg affords many delights, including myriad courses offered by the Christopher Wren Association. I wound up sailing Chesapeake Bay with a lecture about the eco-system by Dan Summers, director of learning at the Virginia Living Museum in Newport News. The contour of the Bay was formed 35 million years ago when a meteor […]
Sailing to a heart attack
Sue and Bob Malinowski came to Williamsburg from Orland Park IL and took a spontaneous cruise on the York River. On a brisk and beautiful afternoon, Sue took the helm and quickly learned to sail. “Oh wow, this is amazing. I had no idea it’s so easy.” She had the boat heeling to 10 degrees […]
Classy sailors take to the water
Sam Scovill was among the students in the 16th annual fall sailing class offered by the Williamsburg Area Learning Tree through Williamsburg Charter Sails. Students typically come to class with little experience, but not so here. “Last week I helped a guy bring his 50-foot sailboat down from Annapolis to Hampton. I hadn’t sailed in […]
Sailing past Busch Gardens
Every year Busch Gardens in Williamsburg ramps up in the fall for a massive theme of Hallow Scream. Before they went sailing on the York River, Tina Herald and Chris Lawrence were in the park the previous evening as the cast began to set up and rehearse. They regaled me with this: “All of sudden […]
Sailing the Great Lakes
The York River is pretty big and the Chesapeake Bay is large, but there is nothing like sailing the Great Lakes. They are veritable oceans. Mary and Mike Wlodarski were vacationing in Williamsburg from Naperville, Illinois, so they went sailing on the York with another couple to celebrate Mary’s birthday. Naturally he recalled harrowing sailing […]
Scouting the Carolinas for sailing
Hurricane Matthew was unusual for how the damage occurred. Typically a hurricane batters the coast and diminishes as it heads inland. In this case, the outer bands of rain pummeled central North and South Carolina with up to 9 inches of rain, cutting off roads with high water that crested to 28 feet above normal […]
Sailing with the Air Force
After Hurricane Matthew, it took two days for the winds to return to normal. Grace and Jim Christy live near the marina of Governor’s Land on the James River, and decided to see if the other river had any wind. It did. With Grace on the helm, we tacked down the York River eight times […]
Bow Riders
That’s the headline for this picture of relaxing on the bow, from the website Sailing Anarchy. I tried lesser variations, including a yoga mat cut to size. The best solution was simply three square cushions lashed to the deck so they won’t blow off. People enjoy sitting and relaxing on the bow because it’s […]
