If you live in central Florida, you are near some of the best sailing schools in the country. St. Pete has a number of good ones, I know people who teach in all of them so won''t mention names. You can learn in a week all the basics plus plenty of on water time. It is doubtful that you would be able to pick up all the knowledge of a captain you sailed with. Rules of the road,
charts and plotting, weather, etc are better learned in a classroom rather then in the school of hard knocks. Have you tried one of the Coast Guard Auxiliary classes on basic boating? This would be a good place to start and would make you a more desirable sailing companion. Good luck in any case.