I got my love of sailing from my Dad, who saw only the romance and none of the hardship. By the time we could afford a boat, I was 14 and we learned to sail together. By that age it was the only thing we could talk about without getting in an argument and it has been important in my life ever since.

I got my son, Reece, out on a H-16 when he was barely 3. He'd sit in my lap until it was time to tack, then he'd hold on to the center laces until we were safely on the new tack and he'd crawl back into my lap. Evey time a puff would accelerate the boat or raise the hull slightly, he'd say whooooa, laugh histarically, then say 'do it again Daddy!'

During the 2004 Outer Banks 500, 'do it again Daddy' became our mantra every time we'd catch a wave and surf the boat. Now I'm thinking of naming my boat "Do it again, Daddy"

Finally, a few months ago, Reece was sitting in my lap and we were watching the Spitfire video. About half way through he shouts, "Woah, that's so f#%&ing cool." Where in the world would a three-year-old hear such language?