Any time your neurons are still inside your noggin so you can think "was that good airmanship or did I bottle it?", it was a good decision. Yeah, you might have made it, the weather might not have been as bad as it looked, you might have ended up missing a great flying day, yadda, yadda, yadda. That's all Monday morning managing.
It's amazing how fast things go from "hey, this isn't so bad" to "Christ, I am truly frightened!!". Flying when you're truly scared is no fun and is totally unneccesary (this ain't combat, after all, it's a hobby we do for fun!) and your brain capacity to deal with the reality of the situation drops by a huge whack, thereby making you even less capable of handling the unfamiliar. i've been there twice and I don't ever plan to let that happen again.
I'm all for pushing the boundaries of capability and confidence. That's what we call "experience" and it's how we grow and learn. But do it at a level that doesn't make your butt clench. When you start to think "hang on a minute, here...", then it's probably time to stop doing whatever you're doing, go get the nearest cup of tea and have a good think.
As my mates and I like to say "when you can see the AAIB report form overlaying itself on your situation, then you're probably in over your head."
I've done both; turned back on what later turned out to be a stunning day and pressed on when I had no business being in that bit of airspace. I might be wistful about what I missed in the former, but I consider myself lucky to have made it at all with the latter.
I know which one I'm going for every time. You did the right thing. Better disappointed than disjointed!!
