OK, so this is the summer you really are going to learn how to sail - or improve your basic sailing skills. Before you head out to the water, however, it really helps to understand the boat and what's involved in sailing - before you're out there and suddenly you're not sure what's going on or what to do. You need to be on the water to learn the physical skills of sailing, but some advance knowledge is needed too - even if only to understand what an instructor is talking about when he or she uses terms related to the boat or a maneuver. In other words, you'll be ahead of the game if you take a few minutes to review some basic how-to of sailing online before jumping into the boat. And for that, we've put together a 10-step program that takes you from almost no knowledge about of up through enough understanding to get out there even on your own the first time. And if you already know something about sailing, this program makes it easy to skip ahead to what you do need to review before hitting the water. Most important: remember (as you'll soon see) that sailing is next to godliness - prepare for maybe the second-best experience of your life!
