I think the reason why so many more people sail in EU vs. US is...their price of gasoline makes powerboating REALLY expensive! That and they have much more of a "Sailing Heritage" than we do over here. They also ride bicycles a LOT more than we do, everywhere, all the time, not just for exercise.
They are (on average) quite a bit thinner than we are as well, they don't eat as much junk food (Mickey D's and Pizza Hut) as we do, and they ride their bikes or walk to work more than we do.
Americans are addicted to cars and gasoline engines on all their toys (boats, jet skis, NASCAR), always have been, but if our gasoline prices ever get up to what they are in Europe ($6.00/gallon) I think we'll see a shift towards more bikes and sailboats....that is...if our economy ever improves, which it won't, if the price of gasoline goes to $6/gallon!
How boring is powerboating - everybody can be fast with it. Sailing fast has something to do with expertise, experience and sportiness, even if our petrol prices would be the same like in the US I never ever would buy a powerboat.
