How exactly does sailing around the world work?

How do you get into sailing.?

• Hey there, I live in Southwest Missouri, and would like to get into sailing, but I need to know where to to start. I grew up deeply emerged in the powerboat community and have spent much of my life on the water, but not once in my life have I ever set foot aboard a sailboat. The problem is perplexed because I have recently become infatuated with the prospect of being able to sail as far across the world as your ambition desires. It started as a curiosity, grew to an interest, and is now becoming much more to me. From what I understand, there is a decent sailing community at nearby Stockton Lake, but I don't know anyone in the yacht club, and most yacht clubs are perceived in our culture as being pretentious. Is this true, can I work around it? How do you go about infiltrating the sailing culture, and is it even feasible to do so without owning a boat? Where should I get started, how do I meet people that will show me how to sail?

• Answer:

  Forget the Sailing or Yacht Clubs for now... No worry! Not at all necessary! My suggestion would be to get yourself a small sailing Dingy, Sunfish, etc. Small, cheap, and absolutely loads of fun as long as you are willing and prepared to get a little wet. Seriously, nothing will teach you more then one of these sailing vessels... You can in fact teach yourself with one of these - and have loads of fun doing it. You will learn the "feel" the "wind" the reaction, the cause and affect of the nature of wind and sails... Then, you can go to most any Marina that has sail boats and just pay for a few lessons in a bigger vessel... most instructors will start you out in a 26 or 28 footer - or something near that. And since you will already know the feel of the wind - in only a few lessons - you can move up to a true Ocean Passage Maker... Learning to sail is really easy, and quite wonderful - as well as natural - nothing man-made - as far as I have ever experienced, comes together with nature as well, or as comfortable and easy, as wind and sails. And don't worry about the "Sailing or Yacht Clubs" - and the club races - they just eat up you time and money. Sailing is not at all about speed or racing. Historically, all great world "sailors" (and I mean actual mariners) were either self taught - or had no contact or interest in any of these "Clubs". Though there are of course some exceptions - the ones in the "Clubs" are for the most part, only the "Dreamers" not the doers.... They end up at the end of their days (realizing they were so preoccupied with keeping money in their wallet) that they bankrupted their life - having spent most of it at the Club's bar. For sure, their casket door closes on the dreams they never realized - as they lived a life with dreams of sailing to new horizons, but never sailed past the site of the Yacht club. PS In the summer of 2006 - I gave only six sailing lessons and one offshore "shake down cruise" to a 40 year old and his girl friend - In 2008 he with his girlfriend set off from Galveston to sail to Bimini. 12 months later, he returned - but only after Island hopping from Bimini to Venzuala and back again... Now they live on their boat - work for six months or so - and sail off again... As one famous sailor put it - "At sea, I discovered not how much I need to live, but how little." - Robin Lee Graham (first teenager to sail around the world solo - it was a 5 year voyage.) So my advice is not only to dream about it, but do it, and do it now. Happy and Safe Boating! Capt. John