As another former sailor, welcome aboard the board. Yes, as one gets a little less spritely and 'bendy', the rigours of sailing begin to tell, and being able to just hop aboard, (after loading essentials - which can add up, so watch it), and turning a key, letting lines go, and motoring out, certainly has its charms. Especially being able to head directly for where you want to go, instead of how the wind direction dictates, or being forced to motor-sail anyway, which I always hated to do.
However, as all us ex-sailors will admit, there will be times that you'll miss that lovely silence, of letting the wind take over, the motor going off, and just being there, at one with the sea. Just not that often is all...