Welcome
Welcome to The Sailing Zone
Sailing is a popular past-time for
those who can afford to purchase and
maintain a ship. Personally, even though sailing is way beyond my own
budget, I can see the fascination. I love ships and wish I could sail
around the world on the high seas...it would be a blast!
Sailing:
the ideal sport for families
by Gray Rollins
For many years, the stereotype persisted that
sailing was primarily the province of young, hearty men with large,
tattooed biceps. However, in recent years, the demographic of who
enjoys sailing has become much more diverse.
Sailing is becoming
an increasingly popular recreational activity for families, and with
good reason. On a sailboat that requires someone steering at the helm,
someone navigating from a map, and even someone swabbing the deck,
there is a lot to be done, so there can be a role for everyone from
grandpa down to the smallest tot. Sailing as a family encourages the
kind of lighthearted cooperation and communication that can help any
clan of kin grow closer while having a lot of fun.
Spending an
afternoon on the water is a great way to get away from the stresses of
everyday life. Sharing this kind of experience with your loved ones can
be a great way to have some quality bonding time.
If you are
thinking about exploring this great and soothing sport with your
family, it is a good idea to start small. Taking on difficult waters or
a very long journey when you and your kin are still getting your sea
legs can lead to tension and arguments that can sour the whole
experience.
To keep everybody in a good mood, make sure that you
and your nearest and dearest have all of the training you need in order
to have a calm and safe journey. While it may be tempting to charter a
boat and head for the Bahamas right away, try starting with a course in
water safety along with basic sailing terminology and techniques.
Even
if your family doesn’t fall in love with this uniquely peaceful sport,
you will all be likely to have a great time trying it out. The fact
that learning to sail is half the fun explains why growing numbers of
sailing schools offer classes that are specially designed to suit the
needs of families with varying ages of children. So with a little bit
of effort you are sure to discover a class that is right for you and
your kids.
Private sailing classes can cost quite a bit, with
beginning courses starting at one hundred dollars or more per person.
But if you have the resources to splurge on these sailing classes for
your family, you are all but guaranteed to have fun and learn the
basics of boating.
If your recreation budget can’t accommodate
this kind of one-on-one instruction, you can still manage to learn the
difference between port and starboard. Many shore towns and cities
offer municipally subsidized sailing lessons for residents at prices
that are well below the market rate for this kind of instruction. With
a little research and creative planning, you and your family should be
able to hit the high seas without breaking the bank
Disclaimer
To the best
of our knowledge these are all from either the public domain or free to
use, and a link either has been or will soon be placed on our link page
whenever possible to credit the sources of the photos and tips.
If for some
reason we have inadvertantly placed a photo or image or article that is
not freely
available we will be glad to remove it upon request.
We hope you enjoy these photos and tips.