I’ve sailed boats since I was a kid. The first boat I owned was a 13′ Sunflower pictured to the right. We would strap it to the top of my Mom’s car and she’d drive me and my best friend to Clear Lake (just south of Houston) and we’d sail all day long while my Mom sat on the shore and read a book. Some of the best times I ever had with my best friend John David, were had on these trips.

I later owned a second Sunflower – I liked them, as they were easy to sail and were made of Styrofoam – so there was no chance of sinking one.

When I was in high school a family friend had a 41′ Morgan Ketch that we’d spend weekends on sailing around Galveston Bay.

I also had a sunflower, a 13′ Bic Sailboard (before they were called “windsurfers”) and an 18′ Hobie Cat that I absolutely loved to sail.

I love sailing it and I’ve spent some great times on it with my family and my friends.

It’s not much to look at, it’s not a “bragging boat”, but it brings me a lot of joy.

Today I spent just about the entire day getting it cleaned up, repairing the trailer and replacing old or worn out/broken parts and just messing around with it was a lot of fun.

Tomorrow I plan to take her out to Lake Travis’ Windy Point and put her in the water for the first time in 2 years. It’s been a while since she’s been in the water because I have to have another person to sail with, and because about 2 years ago I took up Kiteboarding. But my oldest boy asked to go sailing – and how can I refuse a request like that.

— A boat is a hole in the water into which man throws money. —

One of the things I love about sailing is that it teaches patience, leverage of power and a wealth of metaphors for life that my friend Julian Franklin and I are considering writing a book about.

Most of all… it’s very, very peaceful… sometimes… and downright terrifying at other times. When you are sailing all you have to do is sail. No cell phones. No computers. No twitter, Facebook or text messages. Just sailing and spending time solving the challenges that sailing itself presents with the person or people who are in the boat with you.

I am constantly amazed at how many of my magician and entertainer friends are also sailors or kiteboarders. There must be something in the same genetic defect we all share that draws us to these activities. I’d love to hear about your boat. Please leave a comment.