Sports & Fitness
Sailing
You read an invisible wind off the water and the sail
Owning a boat is expensive, but there is a nearly free way in: turn up at a local club as crew, because weekend racing boats are chronically short of hands and will teach you in exchange for effort. The first thing to learn is reading wind, which is invisible and inferred from ripples, flags and the shape of the sail.
First stepBook a taster sail at a local club, or sign up as novice crew for a weekend race, and work a sheet through one tack with the skipper as your instructor.
Barriers
Cost to start
Under $50
Going deep → $10k–50k
Alone or with people
On your own
Effort
You will sweat
Without a teacher?
Needs a teacher
One session takes
Half a day
Where
A special place
Why people take it up
Related guides
Keeping the spending in checkStarts at Under $50, going deep runs $10k–50kTry a hobby before you buy the gearRisky without a teacherSkills
Needs firstCan swim ↗