Another strong passion is water: seas, lakes, rivers, ...swimming pools. When winds or balls are added, the mix is even more perfect.
Moreover, this mix led me to at least a serendipitous invention, the Cubed Sphere Grid method, which creates a quasi homogeneous mesh on a sphere, avoiding singularities at the poles. I still remember the emotion, when this idea jumped in my mind while I was handing in my hand a water-polo ball.
Every summer, we use our skipper's license to rent a sail-boat and wander for two weeks around the Mediterranean sea together with a few sea passionate friends. Our daughter is rapidly incresing its skills, and promises well...
In our opinion, the best mix of wind and crystal clear water is in the area just between Corsica and Sardinia, (Bocche di Bonifacio and Arcipelago della Maddalena).
When young, I have been trained really hard in the A.S. Roma swimming and waterpolo team. 4-5 hours every day was the norm during summer. 3 hours during winter.