Often I hear the lament, "We didn't use the boat much this season", from people soon to be selling their boat. That's never been the problem. Sailing for 25 years or so as a family, we consistently use the boat for 30-40 days and nights each season.

The missing part for me during some seasons, was not enough sailing. Part of that reason was our family of four. There was usually a destination in mind when we'd get on the boat. Now just two of us, that's changed a bit. Being out on the water is a wonderful escape in and of itself. And we like a day or three retreat so daysailing just wouldn't satisfy that desire to 'get away'.

And I've worked and invested more $ on the input side of my sailing: I've lightened the boat,continually improved the bottom(more work yet to do), and in the last few years, added new sails.

These improvements on the input side of sailing have delivered great dividends on the output side; sailing quality has improved this season. It was one of the best of many seasons. I'm looking forward to more.

It's been a very satisfying season, and I'm thinking about,...snowboarding...