30 WAYS TO GET AFLOAT

From tall ships to small dinghies, you needn't own a boat to sail. Ali Wood looks at the options, and how skippers can also find crew

- Ali Wood

When I tell non-sailing friends how much fun you can have on the water, they typically reply: 'Sailing, isn't that for rich people?'

'NO!' I've lost count of the number of times I've debunked that myth. It's true, owning a boat can be costly, even when you maintain it yourself, but there are many ways to sail for free or low cost, which is what I've done for most of my life. Even now, as a member of two sailing clubs, I spend less annually on boating than I do on my kids' football subscriptions. At PBO, our mission is to get you on the water as affordably as possible. If you don't own a boat, are thinking of selling yours or even trying a new kind of sailing, here are ways you can do it.

What type of boat?

The first thing to consider is do you prefer to sail a big boat or small? There's a world of difference between the two. Dinghies capsize, yachts usually don't. You wear a wetsuit on the former, and oilskins on the latter. Then you have keelboats which, with a weighted keel, are somewhere in between.

Dinghies are fast, fun and unforgiving - you learn quickly when one false move tips you overboard, yet you can sail cruising yachts badly your whole life and never even know it. Yachts and motorboats offer a lifestyle that dinghies can't; an opportunity to do long passages and see new places, sleep and live aboard. But, if you want maximum fun for the least amount of cost and effort, a small boat triumphs every time, and there's a great camaraderie to be found at local clubs.

Then there are boating opportunities that fit none of these categories... such as tall ships, lifeboat crew, charities and East Coast smacks. My advice? Try them all!

1. RYA taster day