"News f2s" wrote

Here you've touched the nub of the disagreement. You've been
comparing (I suspect) easy flying with difficult sailing, and
concluding that flying is easier (and, perhaps, overexpensive to
insure!).

That's exactly what I'm doing and it is not a disagreement. I'm not
trying to say that flying is easier in general. Both flying and
sailing cover a huge spectrum of difficulty and that red herring has
nothing to do with my point. I'm also not saying that sailing should
be licensed or more regulated.

Everything we do is increasingly regulated by a society where
government and the insurance companies are tuning the screws tighter
and tighter. I was expressing my surprise (and unsaid thanks) that I
can still do difficult sailing without doing anything except renewing
my boat registration every year. If society was consistent in these
matters, the sailing I do would be regulated as closely as my flying
was. Thank goodness it isn't.

And, to keep pounding away trying to be clear so I don't have to read
any response posts with lines of all capital letters, I'M NOT SAYING
BOATING SHOULD BE LICENSED OR FLYING SHOULD NOT BE.

--

Roger Long