Among landlubbers, sailing has a bit of a reputation as a nob's pastime. Like polo or motor racing, it gives off a nasty whiff of exclusivity and snobbery. The perception is that you have to be loaded, wear expensive but crap clothes and drive a Land Rover Sport SE. It also helps to have the personality of Fergie and the politics of Oswald Mosley.
Like most things in life, the difference between perception and reality is considerable. You don't need to be rich and stupid to go sailing. In fact, there are more skint, clever people out on the water than you would believe.
True, you can spend a fortune and buy yourself a place crewing aboard a Farr 65 yacht in the Rolex Fastnet Race but let's leave that sort of thing to cash-rich/time-poor characters of this world shall we?
Idle sailing is about getting on the water quickly, cheaply and with the minimum effort. This happy goal can easily be achieved through a combination of location, boat selection and, frankly, a carefree attitude to risk.
Location
The nearer you are to a bit of water, the more likely you are to sail. Correction. The nearer your boat is to water, the more likely you are to sail. If it's in your garden with the mast down and you have to hitch it up to the Allegro, drive forty miles through weekend traffic and then spend an hour rigging it, you will soon lose interest in your new hobby. Best to join a club and stick it in their dinghy park where you can wheel it down to shore and be afloat, ready to go in 10 minutes. This is not as expensive as it sounds - membership is about £100 a year for a non-fancy club. And idle sailing is all about being non-fancy.
Remember you are never more than 70 miles from the sea in the UK but if that sounds a long way, there are a ton of reservoirs and lakes where excellent sailing may be had.
Boat selection
Getting on the water cheaply is of course best accomplished by the purchase of a low-cost vessel. You can get dinghies for less than a 100 quid but this is perhaps a little too low-cost and the craft is unlikely to be seaworthy. The last thing you want is to star in a mini version of Titanic, particularly if you are trying to persuade a loved one of the many merits of the sailing life. I will be dealing with boat selection at length in a later post, but be prepared to spend say five hundred oncers and you will have yourself a true and trusty steed of the seas.
Risk
Shelling out for expensive courses run by bossy know-it-alls who bellow incomprehensible stuff like 'bear away !' and 'luff up!' while you're struggling to keep the boat pointing in one direction for more than three nano-seconds is a waste of money.
I fully endorse the DIY approach. What's the worse that can happen? Well, drowning is of course the obvious downside to teaching yourself how to sail but with a degree of caution and a good lifejacket, this is unlikely. Keep an eye out for what other people are doing before lanching yourself is a good tip. If they all capsize and come back to shore shaking and in tears, don't bother.
To summarise then. Idle sailing is not expensive, is achievable and can be enjoyed by all. (Except perhaps those who have previously endured a terrifying sailing experience at the hands of a novice spouse, partner or friend. Such individuals sadly suffer an permanent and incurable phobia of all things nautical but more of that later.)
