Hi Mary:

I didn't see you at the Mega, but I did see Rick, and it's obvious he's strong enough to still muscle these boats around. I'm fifty-five, 5'10", and 172 lbs and I do use weights. The extra strength helps me set the boat up; move it on the beach by myself, and handle the main with a simple 7:1 one handed.

Using a righting pole, I can actually get my 18 magnum up myself with little work. I can't imagine being able to do any of this if I did not use weight resistance. It's not a hard program; maybe I have a total of four hours a week in it.

I want to thank you for bringing this to our sailing friends' attention. I know there are many that are in really good shape either because of their work activities or exercise disciplines, but I've always worried about others that are extremely out of shape and I've actually seen sailors that cannot even get themselves back on their boats if they fall off, or decide to take a swim.

Maybe you'll bring it to their attention that they are actually helping other sailors besides themselves when they try to stay fit.

Wyatt