Physically ready to race offshore?

Craig Warner provides this report for the Lake Michigan Sail Racing Association:

We will be talking about getting your boats ready soon enough. Before we get to that, there is a question I rarely hear: Are you physically ready to go out on Lake Michigan and sail for the better part of 2 or 3 days?

Your doctor and particularly YOU, and the same for the crew, are the best ones to answer that question. I have raced for over 40 years, and until recently, I felt physically and mentally up to the task. But times have changed, and I am physically beached from further racing.

I do not know if any pilots are out there reading this article. The FAA mandates a certain degree of health. If you fall below their health standards, your flying privileges are revoked until an FAA doctor clears you to fly. It is perhaps one of a pilot’s most feared episodes in their flying if you are grounded, and it is devastating if you are grounded for the rest of your career.

Sailing is a bit different. I have read accident reports where the victim’s health was not adequate. – Full report