There was a time in my naive youth when I thought I wanted a big sailboat, perhaps even a Hinckley. Hinckleys are made in Maine and they have one of the best reputations on planet Earth. You can pick up a used one for about $300-$400 000 U.S.
Okay....so there's no Hinckley in my future. Honestly, it's a good thing. Maintaining a Hinckley in the condition (bristol!) that it deserves would cost another $20 000 per year. Let's face it, it's a rich man's sport. This is why I windsurf: fast, portable, inexpensive.
Next topic: snowmobiles. When I was about ten years old I desperately wanted a snowmobile. Our neighbours, the Slipps, had a blue one and I was green with envy. I used to sit in my parents' living room with my chin resting on the back of their sofa, peering out of the frosty lower panes of our picture window at the joyous Slipps and their magical snow machine. Life wan't much better for me in the summer either, because the Slipps had mini-bikes. Now that I think of it, my youth must have been hell.
I got over my insatiable appetite for snowmobiles at some point in my youth, likely when I whined enough to get a motorbike of my own. I also took up skiing which gave me some winter solace, and a way to injure myself at lesser expense.
A couple of days ago Wendy's cousin Jason sent me a video depicting the good life in Newfoundland. In the video he was sitting on a smelly, noisy snowmobile....enjoying the great outdoors. There was abundant snow in the scrubby, black spruce forest, and a trail had been made through the muskeg for all to enjoy. Jason's snowmobile is capable of going so fast that it would peel the fear of your face, though he was just chugging along in the video.
I felt compelled to make my own video, swapping 130 horsepower for 1 jackass power. I suspect that Jason and I have equal amounts of winter fun, we simply find it in different ways.
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