[kunwon1]

I've always been interested in sailing. I'm from Illinois. I once went to Jamaica and sailed a small catamaran for several hours on a protected bay and had great fun. For years afterwards I was reading sailing textbooks and dreaming about it, but given my location, I don't want to put money into it

I've played some sailing games and had fun, but they weren't simulations. I've never tried a sailing simulator. This one looks great, and I'll try it out, if I can make it run on Linux. (I notice you say that it's Windows-only, I take that as a challenge)

[rcthompson]

Since you've said elsewhere in the thread that you want to sail solo, I might also suggest getting into windsurfing. A windsurfer is a solo craft and smaller and more portable than a sailboat (no trailer required, just a roof rack), and can be used in smaller and shallower lakes. Especially if you're interested in the mechanics and physics of sailing, windsurfing is great for that, since you manipulate the sail manually and use it to do everything, including steering (no rudder).

[glitchcrab]

I've been sailing since the age of 10, and teaching it since the age of 18 (on a volunteer basis, not as a career); I'm now 36. I didn't grows up near the coast here in the UK so a lot of my early years were spent sailing on lakes - it's worth seeing if you have options like this near you. It's not a terribly expensive sport to get started with; you certainly don't need your own boat!

[tmcinerney4]

The wind off Chicago is some of the best in the US for sailing. its cold, but its great. In fact, we have produced some of the most competitive small boat sailors in the world, and have even hosted big boat stuff like the americas cup.

I used to be a race coach for small boat sailing - happy to give lessons

If you want to go sailing this summer, Id be more than happy to show you how!

[worldsayshi]

You might be interested in sailing on such a ship irl then: https://www.gotheborg.se/

[kunwon1]

My main interest is in doing it solo, I don't think I'd enjoy it nearly as much with other people around. While this does look interesting, it doesn't appeal to me in the same way

[jfk13]

I remember reading Robert Manry's Tinkerbelle[1] as a child, and ever since have had something of a fascination with the idea of sailing solo; although at my now-fairly-advanced age I accept that I'm going to keep my ambitions severely in check.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinkerbelle

[yetanotherloser]

For what it's worth, I sail and the average other sailboat I meet is sailed solo by an older guy. A small to medium coastal cruiser/overnighter type seems to be the sweet spot, can be easier to single-hand than many kinds of dinghy, cheaper and with easier boat handling than big cruisers and less to go wrong. So it may not be Atlantic crossing but I hope you get some sailing in.

[jfk13]

Thanks for taking the time to add an encouraging comment.

[AYBABTME]

There are trailerable mini cruisers, especially in the trimaran space. Example (of many) https://corsairmarine.com/used-boat/2015-corsair-dash-750-mk...

You can bring it home, bring it on lakes, or bring it on the east coast and sails to the Bahamas. Whatever rocks your boat, literally!

[martyvis]

Don't know much about Illinois, but there are lakes up there I've heard, surely there are sailing clubs, etc for the summer. I have a small (14 foot) two-hull dinghy thing I bought maybe 38 years ago that I need to get out again on one of the lakes or bays here south of Sydney , Australia.

[aidenn0]

Illinois boarders a small inland sea named "Lake Michigan" (58000 km^2) that is great for sailing and often has regattas.

[throwaway6734]

check out laser sailing

[ljsocal]

So tempting! Advise anyone considering this not to skip the “who should apply” info. Not the love boat!

[wizzledonker]

> I notice you say that it's Windows-only, I take that as a challenge

It runs under WINE with no issues

[beefield]

> but given my location, I don't want to put money into it

You made me a bit curious, why not? Illinois seems to have sailing opportunities in many places, and with a good drysuit or wetsuit even dinghy sailing in colder climates is fine. And if you still do not fancy swimming, there are small keelboats you can handle on your own relatively easily. (Take your time to learn in easy winds and preferably a teacher of some sort, though)

[kombine]

I'm also interested in running it on Linux, would be great if the game officially supported running in Wine.

[bradhe]

> I've always been interested in sailing. I'm from Illinois.

Almost a haiku!

[roflyear]

Lake sailing is out of the question? You can probably get a small dinghy or hobie cat for free (you'll need to do work on it).

Or join a yacht club on a lake and make friends :)

[DennisP]

Yep, I grew up sailing, and learning on a tiny boat is pretty much ideal. It responds quickly, and that helps you get a good feel for things. Then gradually work your way up.

And those big Illinois lakes probably have yacht clubs with regattas, which is where you really learn to sail well. And it's great fun; there's a lot of strategy involved in racing, I'd feel like I was captain of the Enterprise fighting the Klingons.

[gerdesj]

When you get the hang of what the wind is up to despite your boat's forward velocity based on what it feels like and the look of the waves and breakers etc.

Just like an aircraft, you need to consider three axes of rotation - nominally: roll, pitch and yaw and three vectors for direction of travel. Then you need to worry about propulsion. An aircraft provides its own farts. A sailing boat flies or is pushed or a combination of those.

A Bermuda rig - two triangles one in front and one behind the mast, basically "flies". The front sail - the "jib" provides some lift and also steadies the airflow over the main sail.

A square rig - think Santa Maria, HMS Victory, Vasa etc generally rely on being pushed. They will probably also have staysails with very complicated names and the like that work in the same way as jibs. Also gaff rigs, Arab dhows, Junk rigs and more ways of using the wind.

In the end the helm needs to feel the wind and work out what to do with it - that's why the ship's wheel on sailing vessels is not enclosed (that would be insane).

[gavmor]

In two clicks I had it running with Wine. Not a problem.

[wbl]

The world's biggest lake is right next to you!

[sam_lowry_]

The Caspian Sea?

[NegativeLatency]

People also make and race small RC sailboats