Hi Big Red
Take it you have not been yet.
Am sure you will enjoy it. Yup you can have to wait for hours to have a go, get cold etc.
But that is only a very small price to pay. If all goes well you will have the experience of a lifetime.
A good winch launch gives you the same acceleration as a F1 car.
Someone has already mentioned that flying and gliding are really 2 different things altogether. They are different challenges and can both be very satisfying.
If you want to go from A2B gliders are pretty useless and a powered machine is the way to go. However if you want to have a nice day 'relaxing' in the air or compete with mates I think you will have to go a long way to find something which is half a challenging as gliding.
Have fun.
Frank Voeten