Philanthropist Jane Batten has pledged $1.5 million for a new sailing center being developed by Nauticus, a gift that could help boost efforts to support the cash-strapped Schooner Virginia.

KILL DEVIL HILLS, N.C. Zack Marzec hovered above sand dunes, becoming a neon-shaded wing against a cloud-speckled sky. Beachgoers gazed upward as he floated, wind rippling their clothing. It seemed almost effortless. Marzec gripped a silver bar and moved it when the wind nudged him. "He's so relaxed," fellow glider David Fynn said.

WILLIAMSBURG
Gerta and Gunter have a secret.
The German guides introduce themselves on video screens as you wait in line for Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s newest roller coaster, Verbolten, which has its grand opening this weekend.

HAMPTON The National Park Service is holding two public meetings to discuss planning for the Fort Monroe National Monument. The two-hour meetings  will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Monday for the public to weigh in on the historic fort's future.

In the midst of spring, during a week we officially celebrate nature twice - Earth Day yesterday and Arbor Day Friday - can you think of a better time to meet the neighbors?

HATTERAS ISLAND, N.C. For decades, no one knew the connection between the Hatteras Weather Bureau Station and the ship considered the pinnacle of luxury that sank on its maiden voyage.

VIRGINIA BEACH Back in colonial times, Virginia and Maryland officials knew they needed a lighthouse to guide ships into the Chesapeake Bay. After much wrangling in the early 1770s about how to pay for it, they agreed to impose duties to build one at Cape Henry, where fog and treacherous shifting shoals regularly claimed vessels.

A Norfolk restaurant owner will get the chance to manage the officers' club at the former Army base at Fort Monroe.

 WILLIAMSBURG  Colonial Williamsburg will open its latest exhibition, the James Anderson Blacksmith Shop and Public Armoury, at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Fifes and drums will lead guests through the Historic Area to the new site, which will feature blacksmiths, coopers, basket makers, carpenters and armourers, and staff from masonry trades.

A 70-year-old restored skipjack that is on the National Register of Historic Places will become Ocracoke's newest attraction next week.