>>2476658I live in the coastal GA area and have my boat on a wet slip and pay $312 a month. I love sailing, it’s my favorite hobby, and considering it costs $150 to charter a sailboat for an hour down here, I break even if I take my boat out for only 2hr a month. My only issue with being on the water is that my boat is on a river with a strong current only a few miles from the ocean, so depending on the tide and where my boat is moored, I have to wait for favorable conditions or get trapped in the marina. Additionally, when I do go sailing in zero/light winds, it means I’m fighting the current hard either going out or coming in at which point I’m just motoring. You’ll have more freedom from the elements on lakes, and more open water access on oceans, but it’s great being really in tune with nature. My gf gets bored on the water but there are few things better than cruising under sail with just the wind, no engine, and joining the dolphins, fish, and birds as you all live your life /out/doors.
Overall I highly recommend sailing, 10/10. I need to learn to tighten my rigging a bit and need more practice with the jib and properly using the mainsail, but it’s all good - there aren’t any mistakes, just lessons! I’ll pay for some proper sailing classes in the near future to learn some advanced stuff and coastal navigation, but as long as you want to get out on the water, by all means go for it!
>pic taken from the back of my boat as I tied stuff down 2 days before hurricane Ian passed by 