"Joie de Vivre"

            In French, “Joie de Vivre” means “Joy of Living” – and that is exactly what Peter and Ann Coriasco have found at Smith Mountain Lake.

            The feeling is, in part, a result of time spent on the couple’s 35-foot O’Day sloop, which is docked at the waterfront of their home in Windmere Point.

            Purchased in 1985, the boat has made many long reaches on and outside New York Harbor, convenient to the Coriascos’ former homes in Brooklyn, N.Y., and Westfield, N.J. They moved to SML in 2004.

            “We were sailors only back then,” said Ann Coriasco, noting that the couple has since added a pontoon, canoe, kayak and pair of matching personal watercraft to their flotilla. “With all those boats to exercise, plus the time we spend traveling, the sailboat gets used less than we had planned. But we still love sailing together.”

            One of the Coriascos’ favorite sailing destinations is the open bay where the Roanoke and Blackwater channels converge.

            “Conditions here can be gusty,” Peter Coriasco said, “and sometimes capturing the summer evening breezes is tricky.”

            The Coriascos taught themselves sailing years ago, often taking a textbook aboard their first boat, an unnamed 16-foot centerboard craft.

            Joie de Vivre is the couple’s fourth sailboat and the second to be called Joie de Vivre. The boat is large enough to provide plenty
of room on board for sons Michael, 26, and Christopher, 23, when they visit.