[jack_patricia]

QS:

I''ll toss out two add''l thoughts re: your dilemma, since neither has been mentioned.

First, you sound like a candidate for ownership in a charter boat (by which I mean a boat that suits the family, the family budget, and is managed by a good firm on the Bay). Even if you move, you''d have "visiting privileges" and a way to vacation & enjoy the infinite pleasures the Bay offers, at times of convenience to you. I''m not sure that''s your optimum alternative, but it would fit some of your described needs and there certainly are lots of charter firms in & around Annapolis.

The second thought is heretical; guys like Jeff will lynch me if he reads this! <g> We faced a similar situation when sailing back from the Caribbean some years ago: son off to high school, us back to the Work World...how could we justify keeping the boat when we would have so little time to use it. But how could we give it up, with the sense of adventure it brought and serving as alink that kept the family close(r) and mutually involved in something? In our case - and maybe yours? - the answer was to move temporarily (well, for 10 years...) to an activity that offered many of the same rewards, was more portable, cost about the same, was fun, etc. So we all ended up becoming pilots. In fact, as I write this I''m at my son''s apartment in Pensacola, where he just got his Navy Wings. We gave up 10 years of local sailing but we got a lot, too. Perhaps an occasional sail with friends is all your family - or maybe just you - needs now & then, and there''s a more suitable activity you''re overlooking.

Jack, who''s back aboard with his wife & cruising in Trinidad