Is it not pretty much the dry season in the Gulf? How many days or afternoons outside will you be while taking the course? What’s the actual chance of wet conditions?
My wife and I sailed for 11 yr in southwest Florida averaging about 40 days out each year after we bought our cruising boat, a Pearson 30. We had “rain” gear aboard that was very rarely used for rain. Most of the time it’s donned for wet (rough) sea conditions rather than for rain. (Sometimes they arrive together, of course.) Folks generally avoid inclement weather and rough sea conditions. So, take the advice of moving slowly into purchasing gear for a new outdoor activity. People, b/c of excitement, often end up with a load of stuff they didn’t need and won’t use much if at all!
Another thing—“sailing” gloves. Look great, seem great, of course. We’ve run through a few sets each and wife still uses hers at the wheel. But—you don’t really need the fancy ones, they don’t last, especially the ones with open fingers. Picking up wet lines (mooring pennants) you may want rubber gloves. When it’s cold, you want warm gloves. Otherwise when handling wet lines you want a type of honeycomb glove, as sometimes called. They’re indestructible, and cheap! Those work for handling sheets as well. I don’t buy sailing gloves now.