October 6, 2004
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DiscoverSailing.com
It always surprises me that people regard sailing as kind of an elitist sport. Perhaps it’s because when someone thinks of a sailboat, they don’t often think of a dinghy, but a yacht such as only rich people have.
Haitian sailboatAlthough my sailboat is way cheaper than many powerboats that run circles around me, a sailboat, however small, means “money” to people, even though ironically, I spend less on insurance (try “none”) and even less on gas (try “none”) and even less on boat storage (try “none”) than my supposedly middle-class counterparts sharing the lake with me.
Even Matt was under the impression that my boat cost a lot, when in fact it was simply that I was spending far too much money trying to support a sailing club which had suffered from nearly a decade of neglect. Having left that organization, I find my funds (and my free time) are adequate for living normally again.
People also seem to be under the impression that you have to be incredibly physically fit (i.e. young) to sail. I’ve met plenty of sailors — fat and thin and in between, old and young and “I don’t remember” — and the only prerequisite I’ve noticed is the desire to do learn and do something new.
And perhaps that’s what makes my company so pleasant, when I do sail with others.
http://www.sailamerica.com/discoversailing/home.cfm
