Nor'easter at Yorktown

Yorktown was a ghost town Sunday morning after overnight howling winds subsided. Tents at the windmill were blown askew, but the American Glory cruise ship was stood solid as waves broke over the docks at Riverwalk Landing. The wind chill was 29 degrees.

Sailing to Credit Security

Credit card fraud is a $1 billion enterprise, and 80% of it is said to be through “card skimming.” Michelle Topping of Towne Bank warned us while sailing on the York to run a fingertip over the slot of the credit card device to feel for hidden paper or plastic strips that can pick up a pin number for a debit card. Unlike credit cards, fraud on the debit card directly affects your bank balance. 

Sailing Way Too Cold

Fred and Barbara Johnson live in Ely, Minnesota, close to the Canadian border. While sailing with their family on the York River, they recounted how it got down to 21 degrees one night in mid-October. In winter, low temperatures hover below zero. The lakes freeze three feet thick, “enough for snowplows to clear lanes to cross the ice,” their son Ben said. “People who own islands will wait for the deep freeze to drive logging trucks across with lumber to build their house,” he added. Fred said, “On thinner ice, sometimes guys will take their pickup trucks out there… and sink them. As for snow, “We’ve gotten flurries while watching the Fourth of July parade,” Fred said. 

Boating Epihany

“When I was 17 I had a life-changing experience. My mentor was Jim Pihos, who eventually owned 42 McDonald’s restaurants including No. 7 in Chicago. We took his 57-foot yacht up Lake Michigan to Sheboygan and met Ray Kroc with his 165-foot Burger yacht. They went out, leaving me and the first mate as the only ones left. We went out and rounded up as many girls as we could—which was many—and took them back for a big party. At one point I went up to the bridge and sat there overlooking Ray Kroc’s boat. I thought, ‘This is what I want out of life, to become a successful entrepreneur. And I did.’” –Gary McHugh, who today has 100 employees in a landscaping business serving greater Milwaukee, as told while sailing the York River

Sailng with the Chef

 

Mike and Kate Cash of Kansas City enjoyed their honeymoon sailing on the York River. They are avid cooks and devotees of the Food Channel, where they follow acclaimed Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. By sheer luck, they were joined on board by Kathi and Chef Ron Gallo of JoJo Restaurant in New York. JoJo is one of 50 restaurants owned worldwide by Jean-Georges. Ron regaled us with stories. Why are chefs so temperamental? “They are under intense pressure every night. You only get that one chance to feed people that one meal.” Kathi added, “Every table is a deadline.” She works the front desk of another restaurant. Ron started years ago with Jean-Georges. “Everybody wants to work for him. Now that he’s a millionaire world figure, he’s still the same. He yells at me just like before,” he grinned. Despite all the crazy hours of working holidays and running a restaurant with 11 cooks, “I never missed any of my daughter’s school plays.” 

You won't run into this sailing on the York River in Virginia. A couple I took out wondered if the picture was real. If not, the shadow of the Big One is certainly well done in Photoshop. Regardless, the scene recalls Roy Scheider's deadpan reaction in "Jaws": "You're going to need a bigger boat."