Arabella Denvir: A Sailing Life

Mar. 20, 2022

4:07 p.m.

1 of 9

Arabella Denvir was destined for a life on the water.

2 of 9

“When I was a kid, I learned to sail. My dad was a big sailor and so were my grandfather and my great-grandfather. They came from West Cork [Ireland] and there was a big sailing tradition in my family,” says Denvir.

3 of 9

Philip and Arabella Denvir operated Premier Sailing without a hiccup until Phil’s untimely passing in 2011.

4 of 9

Arabella Denvir and her Premier Sailing instructors introduced kids, adults and families to sailing from April through October.

5 of 9

One of Arabella’s greatest joys was training her young staff on the job.

6 of 9

Denvir lists among her fondest memories the vibrant image of Carter’s Creek alive daily with the sounds of kids chatting and laughing while they sail.

7 of 9

Young sailors gain confidence on the water.

8 of 9

Sailing is a skillset that can be learned at a young age and enjoyed for a lifetime.

9 of 9

“May you have fair wind and following seas, Arabella.”

Arabella Denvir was destined for a life on the water. Raised in Kinsale, Ireland, a port town on the southwest coast of Ireland known for its recreational boating and good food, she embraced the aquatic lifestyle she observed in her sailing family.

“When I was a kid, I learned to sail. My dad was a big sailor and so were my grandfather and my great-grandfather. They came from West Cork and there was a big sailing tradition in my family,” says Denvir.

As a college student, she taught at sailing schools in Ireland and France to earn money and, several years later, sailing instruction became her lifelong vocation.

“When I was in college, I was busy with intercollegiate racing every weekend, but during summer vacations I would pick up a job teaching sailing,” she recalls. “I didn’t start doing it full time until just before we moved to Malta.”

The “we” is her late husband, Philip. The pair met and married in Ireland before moving to England. Nine years later, in 1993, they left England to open a sailing school in Malta, an island nation in the Mediterranean Sea that rests 50 miles south of Sicily—6 miles shorter than the drive from Irvington to Williamsburg. It was there where she and Philip learned about Virginia’s Northern Neck.

“We had customers in Malta who were Americans. They introduced us to this area 24 years ago,” she says.

Bringing Sailing to the Northern Neck

She and Philip moved to the Northern Neck in 1998 to open Premier Sailing School and were pleasantly surprised by the pace of the region.

“It’s a very different, very quiet area here; very tranquil. People are so friendly and welcoming here. Malta was a busy place with lots of boating, lots of activity, lots of tourists, but a much more difficult place to do business,” she says.

“We had set up a sailing school from scratch in Malta, so it was easy to repeat that here. Honestly, the surprising thing is it’s the same wherever you are: you need the same equipment, environment and instructors.”

The couple operated their sailing business through the Tides Inn, an upscale resort on the Chesapeake Bay in Irvington, teaching multitudes of people how to sail in Carter’s Creek. For years, the pair ran their school without a hiccup, until one mid-July Sunday morning in 2011. That’s when Philip died suddenly from a heart attack during the height of peak season.

Newly widowed, Denvir found strength and support within her school and the community. This support buoyed her up enough to keep the school going during the most difficult chapter of her life.

“So, there I was with my husband of 28 years dead, and a school that would need to be open that Monday morning as usual,” she recalls.

“I was so deeply grateful because I had so much support from the community. So, without me having to do almost anything at all, it all came together. Someone had to tell my poor young instructors the news, which was devastating

for them because they all loved him. It was a complicated week too because it was a race training week and there was a regatta at the end. We were running two locations that week, but everybody pitched in, and the parents of instructors helped me, parents of students helped me, friends helped me, everyone helped me for the following six weeks of that season. They propped me up.”

The month after Philip’s heart attack, Denvir returned to Ireland to give Philip a memorial service in his homeland among family and friends. It was during this time Denvir got clear on the school’s future.

“On the plane journey back [to the U.S.], I had a big think about it—to decide if I would carry on the business or would I not? I decided I would,” says Denvir.

That winter offseason, she laid the groundwork and set her sights on making the school thrive.

“I had the whole winter to plan how I was going to do things. I took on some jobs he did, and I realized that I’d have to get somebody to run the office, which is one thing I used to do. For all the other jobs he did because he was multi-talented, I found people to replace him. It was hard work, but it worked. And I’ve been doing it for the last 10 years and doing so successfully,” she says.

Denvir has enjoyed a special relationship with the Tides Inn since opening Premier Sailing School. It’s a partnership that has benefited the Inn and the school.

Premier Sailing School introduced kids, adults and families to sailing from April through October. Denvir also taught passionate young sailing instructors, training them on the job from apprentices to full-fledged and licensed U.S. sailing small boat instructors.

“We bring a lot to the Tides Inn. This is a perfect place to learn to sail. We have an activity enjoyed by their guests and if we have students who are coming to take a four-day course, they stay at the Tides. It’s what I call a symbiotic relationship,” she says.

Pandemic and Pivoting

The 2020 global pandemic introduced a whirlwind of change and uncertainty in the lives of people and businesses across the region. As some businesses continued to adjust and thrive, others weren’t as fortunate. With changing mandates, measures and restrictions affecting how businesses could operate, Premier Sailing found ways to continue teaching its students, while offering instruction to guests of the Inn.

“The 2020 season was very stressful. I had to protect not just our students and our instructors, but the grandparents that they were living with. I took it seriously,” she says.

As restrictions lifted and people began to resume somewhat regular routines, Denvir was able to reinstate one important portion of the curriculum she had to shelve due to the pandemic, the big boat courses.

“The 2021 season was still a careful one, with still no indoor lessons, but we were able to fully reinstate the big boat courses and that was terrific, and life began to feel more normal,” Denvir says.

Seeing people back on the water learning and interacting brought her joy.

“I enjoy watching people learn to sail well, and I enjoy watching my young instructors develop and grow,” she says.

“It’s such a joy witnessing people feeling the joy of sailing and seeing big grins on their faces.”

With the upcoming spring season not far off, recent change and redevelopment at the Tides Inn have made hosting a sailing school the size and scope of Premier difficult to support, leaving Denvir three options—relocate, sell or close.

“I don’t have the energy to start all over again somewhere else. I spent the past eight months talking to potential buyers for the school and looking for an alternative location in this area but ultimately have not succeeded,” she says, stating she plans to announce the closure of Premier Sailing on March 31, 2022.

“I started the school with Philip, my husband. Closing the school is also closing his school. It wasn’t just mine; it was ours. Something we built together. So that’s a sadness. I regret leaving the community without the sailing school, but I didn’t have a choice.”

Denvir lists among her fondest memories of Premier Sailing School the vibrant image of Carter’s Creek alive daily with the sounds of kids chatting and laughing while they sail, the colorful sails, plus the happy chat of young instructors at the end of each day as they put the rescue boats away and talk about the antics of their students.

“I will also miss all our adult students and returning customers, people from all over the place with great stories of their own. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to be able to provide for all those people and their sailing needs.”

Though the sailing school will disband, Denvir plans to continue selling sailboats from her premises in White Stone.

“I am keeping the boat sales part of the business. I am a dealer for small boats like Laser and Zests and Sunfish, and I will keep that part going,” she says. “I also have been asked to do some race coaching around the country and in St. Thomas, which would be great fun.”

Anticipating New Adventures

Once she officially closes the school, Denvir plans to return home to Ireland this summer to sail on two specific, traditional boats in West Cork and to race the local Fastnet Regatta.

“I’m going to take a little time off, which is a real treat,” she says, “because I haven’t had time off in the summer for the past 28 years because of running sailing schools.”

She’ll also head off to hike the Dolomites—a mountain range in the Alps in northeastern Italy known for its impressive peaks and green high pastures.

“This area is a blend of Austrian and Italian cultures, so I can get a chance to practice my German and my Italian, and eat Austrian and Italian food every evening,” Denvir shares.

Once back in the U.S., Denvir intends to stay open to the next adventure awaiting her.

“I’m looking for future opportunities to do something, and it could be anything. I’m very open. I’m young enough to have a whole other career in front of me. And so, I will just be looking for that—my next venture, whatever that may be,” she says. “I’m ready.”

Arabella may be reached by calling 804-815-0150.