At the age of around 10 I’d heard of this bloke called Jon from the IOW. He was a nut for boats and had had a few. That was my inspiration. To own more boats than JonD. Not sure if I’m quite there yet but will keep trading.
Oh and I used to go boating with my dad who sent me to sailing school at 11 where I sailed single handed to the IOW after my second lesson. My dad had a mirror dingy which we used to sail in the bay that my home looks out over now. He would be mad for it and go sailing in hurricanes and thunder storms. It was fun tbh. After that he had a 5m inflatable, not a rib but a big old heavy black rubber thing. Used to stink, but we caught some big fat flounders from it.
That was it, I was hooked. And I’ve been wasting money on boats ever since. If I totalled up how much I’ve spent I could probably retire tomorrow. But where’s the fun in that ? I’d much rather be working for the next 20 years and have boats along the way 👍🏻