Well, I did it! Now what?

[joes new addiction]

Got the sailing bug in '88 after a pisser of a motorcycle wreck and 18 months in a leg cast, (raced MX, tried to make a living out of it, but, here I am, poor)!
Been in the back of my head til last spring when things seem to fall inplace, took the ASA basic course, and went out and bought my first love-an American 16 16'
Sailed here all over, make plenty of mistakes, but also learned a lot, and most important-o had a blast!
I'm hooked, (funny all my motorcyucle mags are being replaced by sailing mags?!) on the water is where I want to be!
Sold her and ran out and found a new love.....
a PT (Plas Trend) 1/4 22'.
She was built in the 70's but it's the lines of her that caught me.
A old buck had her, she need to be "prettied up", but solid, (perfect a project!).
I can't seem to find out much about her, other than the basic spec, (a Mustang 22' is a close sister).
Anyone know anything about this model, problems, good point/bad, actuallly any info.
Joe
I'm not one to "take it easy". I've always dove in the deep end and went for there!

 

[mark_swart]

Sorry I've never heard of a PT. But the motocross part caught my attention -- I thought I was the only sailor/motocrosser in existence, haha! We do mostly recreational family sailing, a little bit of club racing, and I still race MX in the +25 and + 30 intermediate classes. Boat racing is all about not making mistakes and being smart. MX is all about destroying the competition and being brave. it's a funny contrast, I like them both. But I was telling my wife yesterday after a race, it seems like more things happen in one lap of a mx race than happen in two hours of a sailboat race.

 

[joes new addiction]

After my broken leg Kawasaki dropped me like a hot cake, (I was a support rider for them).
When I look back I realize NOW that I was a piece of meat, to toss when things got tough.
Heck, I raced woth a broken wrist, (my hand duct taped to the lever, "Hey! what happens if I fall"? "you hand will get ripped off, so don't"! "Oh, O.K."!, concussions, torn up knees and when I needed them what did I get?? A law suite and a dropped contract!
Not that I was bitter, (then I was, but not now).
It was the motivation for me to rehab and come back. I raced the 1990 season on a Honda as a privateer and then switched to off road racing.
I figured going through the woods was a lot easier than on a MX track!
Sheet! I was sooooo wrong! Trees roots rocks all the things that are on a trail hrt alot more than a soft MX track.
It's hard to go fast in a 33" wide trail watching the rocks/tree and still pass other guys!
I did that from 1990 until 2 years ago after my kenee repalcement, and "Authur Ritus" moved into quite a few joints in my body!
I switched to road bike riding/touring, some trials, but last summer I found how "calming" a day under sail can be, (plus like I tell my wife, you don't have to wear a helmet, body armour, no one runs stop signs and hits you, and if you fall overboard, slim chances of getting road rash)!
Saiing has gone from a distant dream to reality to my new addiction!
Joe
sailor? at large

 

[JohnS]

If you find yourself missing the adrenaline, it CAN be found sailing. Here's an example from the video that got me hooked on sailing as a pre-teen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWBvVedo9QU&feature=related

 

[joes new addiction]

Nice!
Doing things like that in the dirt is what got me my ti-knee, screws in me back and a "ol guy walk and the pain when I raise my arms over my head!
I never thought a boat could "jump"!
When I feel the "need for speed" I hop on my trials bike and go leap onto bolders and over logs, I think the days of leaping on a bike (or boat) are done.
But, I can tell you, 40 plus years of off road racing saved this old carcass.
I was heading down Interstate 81 after a weekend with the H.O.G. group I'm in. We had visited the 9/11 memorial in Shanksville Pa.
It was July, HOT, I was doing OVER the speed limit outta Harrisburg when I notice my front end felt funny- SSSSSSSHHHHEEEETTTT! FLAT FRONT TIRE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was able to get outta the passing lane, slowed her down to 30?mph, when the back end started to swap, (for a few seconds it was fun! Just like riding an off road bike in the snow or mud). Thought I was gonna save it, was gonna be a HELL of a story!
Went to pull off the highway and hit the "rumble strips".
Bars did a few swaps and she went down sideways.
I hug on for dear life, (I thought as I was going down, "Sheet! This one is gonna hurt")! slid with the bike and slipped off.
4 broken ribs, deflated lung.
My buddy said the bike slid, did a 360 in the air and landed on it's wheels, stood there and fell over.
$8500 hospital bill, (the hot-pistol wouldn't take my insurance??!!)
Total $450 for towing of my bike, (my buddy owns a junkyard/towing, so it was a break, $150 for the butt head to tow it 2 miles off the highway!!)
$650 in parts to get the bike back on the road.
Wasn't "afraid" of the bike, but "white knuckled" the bike when I road it thinking there was something about to go, ended up selling it to pay the "hot-pistol" bill.
Joe
Sometimes you look back and saw, "Man that was fun! I'm lucky I made it through alive....

 

[Ross]

Ever think about taking up bull riding?