Addiction or Hobby?

[jdklaser]

I used to be addicted.  I would sail in air temps below freezing, as long as the wind speed did not go above the air temperature, or big wind but now, not so much. 
Still love to sail, but comfortably.  Love....yes, addicted.....no, hobby...yes

[Potcake boy]

I think of sailing as an escape. A portal that allows us to enter the world where everything is perfect. Perfect because it all makes sense. Perfect because it is the closest we can be with nature, and nature does not have the shortcomings of humanity. A storm can be understood because it is absent the sentiment of human beings, it's just a storm. Nature will present you with challenges, but not betrayal, with extreme circumstances, but not malice. Nature is neither your friend nor your enemy, she is perfectly natural. So for many, sailing is an opportunity to be themselves without apologizing, without fear of reprisal, or being judged.

So I believe that is more than a hobby for many, but less for some, a passion for many and less for others. It is what we make it for ourselves, and that's perfect.

[brackish]

Well said Ron.  For me it has at times been both, at other times been either and occasionally been neither.  I guess it depends on the pressures the life we live has placed on us over time.  Now it truly is an escape, a place to go and become centered.