by tomodda » Mon Nov 23, 2020 11:02 am
Gary:
Don't worry, "thread drift" is pretty normal here. In that vein, I'll tell you about my grandfather - he was a doctor, but at the sailing club he was known as "Sturmwolf" (we're German). This because he was famous for sailing in any weather - thunderstorms, line squalls, gales, he was out on the lake. However, when folks asked him why, his explanation was simple - "It's not that I LIKE storms, it's just that by the time I get away from the clinic, the family, all the other things I have to do, and have time to just sail - I'll take any weather I can get!"
That being said, my father tells me he once got pitched off the masthead (trying to retrieve a halyard) when the boat got hit by a williwaw-type sudden squall. There are limits to being weather-agnostic. I, personally, try to chose weather that wont get me drowned. But I'm not going to let a little rain ruin my fun (as long as there's wind).
Also wanted to write that I admire your "getting back up on the saddle" after hip replacement, and your thirst to learn something new. I can relate - I had a massive heart attack a few years back and the boat has definitely been part of my recuperation, both mental and physical. There's a saying about chess that I like a lot: "Chess is an ocean from which a gnat may drink and in which an elephant may swim." In other words, it rewards you no matter what your skill or ability level. Sailing is much the same, you can do anything from gliding around the lake on a summer afternoon to blasting thru the Roaring 40's in the Vendée Globe Race - it's all sailing, and a joy.
Tom