[JSL3]

For me this post was supposed to be about the joy of achieving a milestone in the path of continual self improvement in the experience of sailing. I was/am pumped that this was my first time soloing on something larger than a daysailer!
Don’t get me wrong, I hear and understand the comments regarding safety. I am not a reckless person. I just wish that more of the responses could be related to the original intent.
It appears that some of the follow up posts here refocus the spotlight back on safety 1^st at all times. In some ways I feel like a kid being reprimanded by my parents. For those who fall into that category, is the intent to educate the many who may view this thread thinking they may read this and then head out to sea without preparation?
In my case, as I’m sure occurs with many posts here, some of the details are left out as to not totally bore you all. For example, these are my home waters, I was no more than 4 miles from my slip, there were no rogue waves on the South River (off the Chesapeake) on the day I went out, if I experienced 3 boat wakes in an hour I could be overestimating it (and I paid attention to them), there were no T-storms in the forecast (and none materialized), and I was probably no more than a mile from land at any given time. Finally, I have been around the water my whole life and been sailing and boating for 25+ years on various craft.
Yes, I understand, I could fall overboard for any number of reasons. But I could also die stepping off a curb into traffic. At some point (i.e. 8 knots of wind, very little boat traffic, clear weather and a competent skipper on a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay) would going un-tethered be OK? To put it another way, can you ever go un-tethered?
Thanks to ALL who responded, I think you have the best of intentions. I very much enjoy this forum and appreciate the contributions that are shared. Keep the comments coming. (am i missing something here?)