Semi-retired myself, started playing abit myself but definately casual. Being casual in this game is a huge disadvantage towards non-casual. Many of your non-casual opponents will most likely be more skilled, have better woods on their ships and better upgrades.
And if you like me, are playing solo it's another huge disadvantage, you have to play more careful and can't take same risks as clan-players because you won't be able to replace your ships the same way, thus in battles i always have to evaluate the situation, if terms of battle are unequal i tend to avoid and fight on better terms.
The good news is you don't need to "craft/buy" ships, plenty of strong dlc ships that you can have fun with wich are easily replaced.
I strongly recommend joining a clan though (most clans seem rather relaxed and usually no issues recruiting casual players).