I was born just about as far from the ocean as you can get in the UK and yet I am drawn to the sea. The coast truly is my happy place, the waves calm my soul and yet, I am a total landlubber with no sailing ability whatsoever.
Yes, my role in any form of water-based activity is to clothe myself in blue and white striped tops and possibly a jaunty scarf and provide a picnic to be eaten or or next to the water.
A few years ago I went with a small group of female friends to a cottage in the beautiful village of Orford on the Suffolk Heritage Coast. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that this was one of the most wonderful weekends of my entire life.
The cottage was beautiful and "upside down" so the day rooms were on the first floor giving stunning views of the sea. We ate breakfast watching the waves and passing yachts and bought the makings of a stunning picnic at the local smokehouse and a deli crammed with delicious foodie treats.
The plan was to row out to my friend's boat and eat our picnic on board. Firstly however we had to row the small boat out to where the bigger boat was moored.
I felt prepared. I was wearing a stripy top and Crocs which I'm told is de rigueur for those who like messing about in the water in the UK.
Keen as mustard I asked my friend who has been sailing since she was tiny what I could do. She (now with a slightly panicked look on her face) pointed to a spot on the jetty well away from the slipway where she was manuoevering the rowboat and told me to go and stand "over there".
Recruiting another of our party who obviously looked like she might know what to do with an oar, she competently launched the rowboat and rowed it to where I was standing now wearing a giant lifejacket over my nautical stripes. Thankfully I managed to transfer myself not altogether gracefully into the boat without falling into the water.
However if I had fallen in I am confident that my friend who is both an expert sailor and full time GP at a local surgery would have been able to save me.
All joking aside, being sure you are safe at sea is even more important than on land where often passing strangers can assist in an emergency.
Knowing how to deal with everything from injuries to hypothermia should be a vital part of your training whether you prefer speedy powerboats or gliding yachts.
An effective way of being prepared for any eventuality is to take a Rya First Aid Course which needs no prior knowledge but in one day will teach sailors basic first aid for a marine environment including knowledge of the treatment for hypothermia and resuscitation.
It's easy to book online and you can choose a time and date which is convenient to you - you will come away from the course feeling confident you could cope in any number of scenarios.
Meanwhile I will stick to only going onto boats being sailed by other people or even better, those that are safely moored like the fabulous yacht Air BNB we stayed in in Brighton Marina once.