Very true about not having enough time (or money) once the kids show up. You notice most of our younger (20's-40's)racers don't have any kids. And the older ones kids are grown up and gone.

My buddies in my NH Air National Guard unit had a "Name the Babies" constest when it was discovered my wife would be having twins.

There were lots of very funny names up on the chalk board in the briefing room; Jose and Hose B, Thing 1 and Thing 2, Frick and Frack, etc. but when the vote came down, the overwhelming winners were,


"No Boat and No Motorcycle"

I had just sold both my J24 and BMW R100S to get money for the downpayment for our first house. It was 6 years before I got back out on a sailboat, a borrowed JY 15 at a club. Then I started the twins in Opti's, then moved them up to JY15's, etc. But the Club we were at had a great kids program with Opti's and 3 loaner JY's.

Without that club and their loaner boats, well, I doubt I'd have ever gotten back into sailing. I only got into cats because a neighbor took me out double trapping on his Hobie 20. I thought my 505 was fast, until that day! As a mono only guy, I never thought cats could do anything but reach fast and then flip over.

When Dennis Connor used that 60' cat to stomp Fey in the 1988 (?) America's Cup, then I started thinking -maybe- cats might be something to look into.

I still have not replaced the motorcycle, probably never will. Racing the Blade Uni, downwind, in a good blow fills my sporadic need for an adreneline rush, and I don't have to wear a helmet...yet.