...I started ocean-racing in 1960 (at age 15) with guys my father's age (b. c 1899-1905). If you haven't done it, heavy-air ocean-racing usually grits ya right up like nothing else. Where else can you get hernias and salt-boils at the same time?
I was literally boat-broken by the Olympian gods of big-boat racing. To complain about anything was NOT an option. So, years hence, race-skippering my own boat--whenever the inevitable tissue-tears and bloody-bits occured, I simply enjoin the yuppies-in-question with a "Git tough!"
Learn to love wind-whip and the collars of your shirt nearly blinding you! Savor bugs off the cranium!
Actually, I've only got 800 Cobra piloting miles on my butt---butt ALL offshore sailors are masochists. If you can't find a crotch-rocket, beg a ride on a large sailboat being used "in anger".
Masochism 101!
