Private, couples or group sailboat charters on York River, short distance from Williamsburg and Chesapeake Bay. Fun family, lessons or leisure yacht cruises
RESERVATION TIP - If you're booking a hotel, consider a tip from one of the crew sailing with friends of Carol Negus. The tipster calls the hotel repeatedly to ask for discounts, first through AARP, then AAA, then as a corporate client, but always with separate calls. The clincher is when she says she’s with a government agency or locality looking to scout the place for a conference. The hotels see that as volume and repeat business and willingly discount greatly.
SAILORS – Members of the Williamsburg Area Learning Tree sailing class graduated after a grueling day of 20 mph winds on the York River. On their third day on the water, they finessed steady winds of 20 mph and waves approaching three feet to qualify on all points of sail in rigorous conditions. This is the 15th year that the course has been offered.
SAILING CLASS - Members of the WALT sailing class spent an exciting day on the York River by running drills and enjoying a brisk breeze. They became proficient in rescuing a man overboard by reversing the boat and returning carefully to the victim (a hat in the water, actually) within 90 seconds. They alerted the Coast Guard to a problem with an aid to navigation near the coast.
SAILING FROM IOWA - Paul and Linda Johnson brought their children east from New Hartford IA to tour American history at Jamestown, Williamsburg and Yorktown. They always wanted to sail, which they did splendidly on a brisk day along the York River where everyone got a turn at the helm. In their spare time, the family performs as The Johnson Strings, playing 75 to 100 musical concerts a year at festivals, colleges, fairs and churches across the upper Midwest.
AN EDUCATION -Two Long Island families enjoyed an afternoon of sailing while discussing a wide range of issues. The two girls are entering seventh grade at the Latin School of Kellenberg Memorial High School, where the Marist Brothers ”train the mind and educate the heart in patterns of civility, order and respect,” according to the website. Students are expected to perform on their own and take responsibility. Translation to helicopter moms: buzz off.
BREEZING BY - The McGinnis family of Roanoke was in Tidewater on a blistering hot day, and they cooled off with an afternoon sail along the York River.
Key Sailors - Aron and Caryn Arias took their boys sailing on the York and helped deploy the colorful spinnaker on the bow for running downwind. Aron and Ben (right) have sailed with Boy Scouts in the Florida Keys. Alex ran the helm as Ben raised the spinnaker.
VEXING QUESTION - Janice and Clint Cox went to graduate school with John and Donna Dooley and have remained friends ever since. While sailing in a brisk afternoon breeze on the York River, we covered medical science, refinery economics, and the decline of history. One issue remained unresolved: Why won't our grown children take our phone calls?
OKLAHOMA SAILORS - Diann and Max Rudd of Perkins OK were given a sailing trip on the York River by their son in Kansas. As a minister, Max once found a hawk with his wing stuck 60 fee up in the large cross rising above his church. It turned out to be an osprey, having flown hundreds of miles inland from the Gulf coast.
You meet the nicest people sailing. Ron Watkins' niece Lisa, a U-Conn grad who’s now a personal trainer, addressed why teens are so wimpy when asked to pull the lines on a sailboat. “Their sedentary life is to our generation what smoking was to yours.” They have simply grown accustomed to unhealthy behavior and lack an incentive to change.
SAILING SURPRISE - Larry Alan Smith of Avon, Connecticut surprised his wife Margarita with a birthday sail off Yorktown. Among the family attending were their son Chris (William & Mary ’07), a former executive with JP Morgan Chase who’s starting a micro-brewery in Williamsburg; and their son Will, (W&M ’14) who’s majoring in government to work on African issues. It was a happy 60th for Mom.
DOCS GO SAILING – Three young Air Force couples with five physicians among them took their first sail and last swim in the York River before deploying this summer to the Middle East and Africa.
SAILING GRACEFULLY - Carlene Gilpatrick went sailing with her sister Joyce and friends on the York River. “We just put our mother in a nursing home, at the age of 102. Her mind is perfectly sharp, but she can’t get around much because of her hip. She’s on absolutely no medications. In her 80s she took high blood pressure medicine but it made her sick, so she quit.”
The Rabel family of Muncie IN observed dolphins while cruising July 27 in the York River, off Yorktown. Alas, the dolphins were hard to photograph because they move so quickly, but it was a sight to see.
BOW SAILING - There is perhaps no better place than to sail on the bow of a boat. It’s a great place to contemplate life as you glide smoothly through the water, oblivious to distracting surroundings. People often comment how serene it is to sail, and nowhere is that better than up front. Whether you like to be in the sun, be alone, or be with a loved one, the bow offers a special place for conversation and meditation. This year we've added two cushions and a yoga mat on the bow for comfort.
TAXI! - Laura Brun drove a cab years ago while working her way through college in Salem, Oregon. One day she picked up a man who paid her in advance to drive him around for hours. He kept getting out and going into stores, then a tavern. It turned out he had just gotten out of jail and was robbing the stores as she dropped him off. Eventually the police caught up and arrested him. “By then he was pretty drunk.”
SAILING REUNION—Debi Owens and Jeanne Kushubar were roommates in college who reunited this week for the first time in 40 years. It rained for 20 minutes while sailing on the York River, but they hardly noticed it.
TEAM SAILING – Two dozen young women who play field hockey for the University of Michigan went on a team-building cruise in the Chesapeake Bay, organized by SailTime of Virginia Beach. They’re ranked 17th nationally in the coaches’ pre-season polls, and their confidence was apparent. They took to sailing instantly by handling a challenging 15 mph wind with the aplomb of seasoned crew.
SAILING TO RETIREMENT – Helen and Paul Heinmiller of suburban Philadelphia took their daughters sailing near Williamsburg. They’re testing the waters at various communities along the East Coast to see where to buy a sailboat and retire. What a great way to tour America’s waterfront.
