While on the cruise, crew members point out highlights onshore. Along the way, passengers may also catch a glimpse of dolphins, sea turtles, sharks, osprey and, on rare occasions, a manatee.
“This is one of the most peaceful and relaxing things I’ve ever done,” says Ron Struyf, visiting from the Chicago area with wife, Laura, of a daysail on the Schooner Alliance.
Captains Greg and Laura Lohse have sailing in their DNA. Laura’s family sailed the Great Lakes near her childhood home in Chicago and with her grandparents in Florida. While studying earth science at Wisconsin’s Northland College, she spent a semester building a tall ship in Spain. “That’s what got me hooked on tall ships,” she says.
Laura was an alumni deckhand who helped fit out that ship and bring it to its Woods Hole, Mass., homeport via the Caribbean in 1988. Greg joined the ship as engineer in the Caribbean and the couple married the following year. “It was the maiden voyage of the ship and our maiden voyage together,” Laura says.
A Pennsylvania native, Greg was fascinated with tall ships as a child. He studied oceanography at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Prior to running daysails and private charters, Greg and Laura worked on research vessels and sail training ships. In 2005, they moved their daysail operation from Cape Charles, on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, to Yorktown’s Riverwalk Landing. They bought the 105-foot gaff schooner Alliance so they could accommodate more passengers. The vessel’s name alludes to the French-American Alliance, which was pivotal to the independence of the United States, and to the personal alliance between Greg and Laura.
On a two-hour daysail, passengers are given safety instructions by crew members while the vessel heads out to open water. The crew invites volunteers to help set the staysail and the jib. Three mainsails are set before departure to streamline each trip. Knowledgeable crew members instruct passengers throughout the cruise, including Casey Laaro, Alliance’s full-time mate, and Christian Hodson, a seasonal crewman.
While on the cruise, crew members point out highlights onshore, including the George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, the U.S. Coast Guard Training Center, the Victory Monument, battlefields and the Augustus Moore House, site of General Charles Cornwallis’ surrender in 1781. Along the way, passengers may also catch a glimpse of dolphins, sea turtles, sharks, osprey and, on rare occasions, a manatee.
On daysails, the crew does what they can to keep the boat under sail. But there are times when the wind is insufficient. “Rather than drift helplessly down the York River, we’ll use our powerful John Deere marine diesel engine to change the scenery and get back on schedule,” Greg tells cruisers.
Laaro also uses humor in his safety briefing. “As you can see, we have 360-degree exits here. We plan on not using them,” he says. “While you are walking around flabbergasted that you are out on the York River on this lovely day, please be mindful of where you are stepping at all times.”
Snacks and beverages, including a local microbrew and Virginia wine, are available for passengers to purchase in the ship’s galley.
On Alliance’s companion ship, Serenity, the Lohses offer a kid-friendly morning pirate cruise. “The kids raise sails, steer the boat, learn knot tying, get a ‘tattoo’ and fire the cannon,” Laura says. “They love it.”
Every winter, Alliance heads to the San Blas Island territory of Panama, inhabited by the San Blas Indians. “It’s an amazing, off-the-beaten path place where the people live traditionally in grass huts and sail log canoes,” Laura explains. “They’re definitely a sailing community.”
While there, passengers can snorkel, hike a rainforest river and catch lots of fish, while also learning how to sail. “It’s great to give them an experience they wouldn’t have otherwise,” Laura says.
“The most memorable cruise was when we went out early one morning to meet a Polynesian boat a couple years ago,” says Yorktown resident Lyn Douglas, who has cruised with the Lohses many times. “We brought i t back to dock. It was beautiful.”
WANT TO GO?
Visit www.sailyorktown.com or call (757) 639-1233 to make reservations and check departure schedules.