Originally Posted by
Flatballer
I'm starting to realize I might have too many hobbies that I want to excel at. Sailing, disc golf, and cycling. I don't think I have the time to be great at all of them.
Today I wanted to do all three, but I only have time for two. I'm going to go play disc golf and then maybe go for a ride when I get home. I'm thinking that I'm going to try and order them in the order that I want to be good at them.
1. Sailing
2. Disc golf
3. Cycling
I might stop competing in cycling and concentrate on getting good at sailing and disc golf. But in order to be competitive at cycling takes a ton of time, while sailing takes very little time, and disc golf is somewhere in the middle. Good decisions to have though I suppose.
I beg to differ. In HS I taught sailing and was on the water 4-6 hours a day. At the same time I crewed on a 40' sloop. Racing every weekend was a commitment of a practice race every Wed (beer fest, but our captain was a bit like Racer Ex - focus was on performance for the upcoming races.) and between 6 and 48 hours every weekend depending on the race. So HS was around 30 hours a week on the water.
In college I was heavy air crew (420 optimum combined weight was around 300lbs. Generally a male captain and a female crew unless winds were high.) and a laser racer. I practiced the NCAA allowed max hours per week along with the rest of the team. The top guns on our team basically lived sailing from a very young age and were dedicated to it through and through. I was a scrub as I came from a crewed boat background. I couldn't beat the A guys around the course to save my life. The dedication required to be competitive in the sailing world is tremendous. Just like with any other sport.
You could probably be locally competitive on a limited practice schedule, but if you want to make it to nationals or worlds you need to drop everything and start sailing that damn thing every chance you get. Practice sailing without a rudder, by the lee, backwards, standing on the bow, etc. Know what makes the boat go through the water and how it all works together.