The Expense of it!

Thanks everyone, there's some really valuable advice here. I can't believe you can buy wetsuits in Aldi and Lidl lol! Great!!  Once I've finished moving house I'm looking forward to having a go :)

I second that - sailing can be as expensive as you want it to be!

I guess we have to admit it is not as cheap as other sports where, say, you can buy a tennis racquet in Tescos and hire your local court for a fiver. But then....playing tennis doesnt involve a vehicle which transports 1 or 2 people for a mile our across a body of water, so isn't as complex and doesn't carry the same risks.

My advice for those on a budget is...

Pop into your local club and speak to a committee member who will help you find a crewing position. This will get you some experience and this enables you to see if you might like it.

Club membership can be pricey...but you can start somewhere 'small' and join the fancy place another year.

You could buy a boat for £100 which would look rubbish but hopefully work properly (find a friend to help you choose!). Then cough up for a 2 day or 5 day course, and get practicing in your own boat after that.

Clothes - another expense...but you can always learn in summer so you need less expensive items. Tescos often do wetsuits too!

You are correct sailing can be an expensive sport to do. However when you are just starting out it can be done very cheaply so you can see if you develop a taste for it.

As already pointed out most clubs run and open or taster day aimed at attarcting new people in.

To do some cost comparisons between sailing and other sports might also be useful. Some years ago a dabbled in karting in the TKM100 class (the cheapest 100cc 2 stroke class at the time).

The kart itself cost me £700 (which you had to have as there is no real way of borrowing or crewing in karting, the corporate and public karting centres also do not offer the same equipment). On top of that I had to get an MSA license which required a full medical (Around £150 total).You have to have a medical every 2 years. Then I had to buy a fire restardant suit, helmet, gloves and boots which cost around £250 all in.

On top of that I also had to join a club which was around £60/year. Not too bad until you consider that you then had to pay for every day that you wanted to race or practice (around £30/day).

Then there was to ongoing maintenance and fuel costs along with an engine rebuild every 6 hours...

I am sure you get the picture...

By comparison sailing is a very cheap sport and a much more accessible sport and the thrills are just as good (IMO).

Thanks guys for your advice, I think I'm lucky and will get some help from my colleagues, I was just sort of thinking of those who aren't in my position really - especially kids. I think more and more clubs are doing things to get people involved these days so lets hope that continues!

Go crewing definitely. Do a course as well but you'll learn about real sailing and racing by crewing and be more quickly involved than you would otherwise be as a helm. You've got some good sailors for colleagues so take advantage whilst you can! Just use your staff discount to get some suitable clothing - it's a good long term investment.

When you do want a boat there's plenty cheap secondhand - my last Lark was bought for £23 in a club abandoned-in-the-dinghy-park auction. Added secondhand sails and rudder and now a student who couldn't afford much is sailing it.