November Sail
A couple from Venezuela celebrated her 50th birthday by taking their children on a November sail on a brisk fallr day. Vanessa Martinez and Tony Torrealba moved here 20 years ago and live in Northern Virginia. Vanessa wanted to learn how to sail, and she did great on all three reaches. They got delayed crossing […]
Mega-Yachts at Sea
Can super-yachts handle very rough seas? By Ron Larson, Encinitas CA I’ve never been on a super yacht in rough seas. However, I would say no. I would not want to risk my life on one in a major storm. I suspect that they would be fine, to a tipping point, then all hell would […]
Learn to Sail
You can learn to sail fast, and quickly at that. Here are five ways, graduating from easy to intermediate. Adventure Cruise Couples and families who book an Adventure Cruise with Let’s Go Sail get a chance to run the helm over a comfortable course spanning three hours. In so doing, they get sufficient tips and pointers […]
Zen on the Bow
“The great thing about [horse] racing is she can get deeply immersed for two or three hours at a stretch. And it is completely different from her everyday work—a switch-out from what is going on in the world that is worrying or unhappy,” said Michael Osmond. “One of her private secretaries told me it has […]
Sailing Under the Bridge
Although it’s taken for granted by locals, the Coleman Bridge is a spectacular piece of engineering and a vital link between two regions of eastern Virginia. It’s an adventure to go sailing under the bridge. After the boom years of World War II, it became apparent the ferry from Yorktown to Gloucester Point would be […]
Is Sailing Considered Safe?
Is the boat safe? Stand back on the dock and look at it. One tell-tale sign that a sailboat is ship-shape is that the lines (ropes) are clean and not frayed. The fiberglass doesn’t have to gleam, but it should be intact without gouges, cuts or holes. (A few spider cracks are to be […]
Survive a Sailing Emergency
Every summer, Category 3 hurricanes along the East Coast inspire anxiety among sailors. In describing how to survive a sailing emergency, these are ranked not by worst-case at the top because all of them are bad scenarios. Instead, they are ranked by degree of likelihood-to-happen, with the top categories representing the least likely and the […]
Birds of the York
Birds of the York River are fascinating to watch, every day and any season. Rob and Share Breitenstein of Pensacola FL took their three beautiful children sailing on breezy York River, where we saw dolphins hunting schools of fish. Either that or they were just playing; it’s hard to tell with dolphins. Overhead about 300 […]
Ships of the York
You can go for days without seeing another boat on the York River. Then they show up in multitudes, seemingly for no reason. In fact, there is a cycle to the boating and shipping traffic. Here’s a rundown of the range of boats and ships along the York River. Next, a unique factoid is […]
Sail Cheap
Our charter company Let’s Go Sail offers a special Boat-Buyer Cruise for those inclined toward acquisition. The three-hour cruise is a challenge because the prospective buyer is often a fellow whose wife isn’t all that crazy about the idea. In fact, some women remain hell bent against it. For both of them, I suggest getmyboat.com and […]
Top Sailing Songs
The American Sailing Association is a venerable organization that I belong to as a professional mariner. I hold ASA credentials to teach three certified courses. Having said that, the ASA list is flawed for lacking “Sailing,” by Christopher Cross. It is the single-most mentioned song by guests at Let’s Go Sail, followed by another one […]
Sailing with House Guests
I once toyed with running an ad in the Ford’s Colony community bulletin that replicated the info graphic above. It derived from a burst in activity from couples who were visiting friends in the planned community and evidently stayed too long. Normally the home couple would join them, but clearly they were fed up. So […]
Sail Past Navy Ships
Nearly every week, except during the holidays, we sail past Navy ships as they ply the York River to and from Yorktown Naval Weapons Station. They arrive usually on Monday around noon and depart Thursday or Friday morning. These ships are magnificent to see coming over the eastern horizon from Norfolk Naval Base. I […]
Sailing & Fishing
There are two kinds of boating that are mutually discrete: Sailing & Fishing. I refer people all the time to my colleagues at York River Yacht Haven who offer fishing charters. But occasionally someone will ask if they can try fishing off the back of the boat. It’s tricky because we run the risk of […]
Anniversary Cruise
After a rainout one afternoon, a couple from Hampton went out for an evening sailing cruise to celebrate their anniversary. Kelly Anderson is in the Air Force at nearby Langley Air Force Base, where she works on the ground with the planes. Keisha Pexton is director of training at Newport News Shipbuilding. Keisha said, “I […]
Ships Everywhere
For the second day, the NOAA research vessel Thomas Jefferson was stationed in the middle of the York River. At one point a tiny red submersible steamed around the big white ship. I radioed the bridge for details, but they would only say it was a surface ship instead of submersible. I asked for why […]
Learning Cruise
A retired Richmond executive returned to Let’s Go Sail for a learning cruise to hone his skills acquired in ASA 101 and 103. Jay Levine recently returned from a three-week cruise in the Caribbean that posed challenges for a vegteran mariner, not to mention a newcomer. “I managed to get aboard a 54-foot Jeanneau as […]
Honeymoon Cruise
A newly married Pennsylvania couple in Williamsburg enjoyed a honeymoon cruise on a warm sunny day on the York River. Madison Lohr works in daycare in New Castle, where she prefers tykes over older children. Mark Mikolhoff works two jobs. “I’m a chef at Chuck Tanner’s Restaurant in New Castle, named for the Cleveland Indian […]
The Oil Scoop
A Richmond family drove down to get away from the lockdown and the George Floyd protest violence to enjoy a quiet and picturesque day on the York River. They enjoyied a big day of sailing and got the oil scoop on barges. Faika Zanjani is a professor at VCU specializing in bacterial issues, but we […]
Go Fish in the York
As a professional mariner, I regret to report I don’t know much about fish. Growing up, my mother served a lot of TV dinners. I thought fish sticks peculiar because I couldn’t understand how they could swim efficiently. When I secured my USCG captain’s license, I had to jump through 49 certifications for the […]