Great call by you and the Instructors.
It's a pity more people in the past haven't done exactly that as they may be with us still, but i'm sure VeeAny will be glad you're keeping his workload low, not having to edit his statisitcs webpage.
Live and learn, and never ever be afraid to stay on the ground if the weather looks iffy, even more so if you feel under pressure by friends and family etc.