If you decide to come down to Tampa Bay, drive on down to the Dunedin Causeway, walk up to almost any cat sailor and say help and you will have it. great sailing inside on the intercoastal, lots of spoil islands to stop and picnic on, and you can go outside to the gulf if you want. There is a fun distance race coming up Sept 6, you can get plenty of advice then and can learn a lot. Happy sailing, and welcome to the club of "I cannot beleive I just did that."