Thanks so much for the story, Marci. It's a familiar story that I've heard from a number of my cruising friends and you did a wonderful jobs relaying it to us.
I, too, am totally enamored with the sea. Fortunately, my vastly better half was already a novice cruiser when we met so we avoided any trauma.
Like you, the sea is calming for me. I have done many AIs in the past and none of them can hold a candle to the experience of being AT sea... not gazing at it from shore.
Ciao!!
- Mach