Cut of the jib: Take the wind into your sails

Yachting - that's when moneyed gadabouts party on a boat and call it ''sport", right? Only on Instagram.

In the real world, it's when adventurers don waterproof jackets and sensible shoes to haul rope and flirt with the weather gods. For fun.

This I learned last Wednesday as a guest of Royal Natal Yacht Club Commodore Graham ''Speedy" Rose aboard his L34 yacht Zap. The club offers free yacht rides every other Wednesday to beginners during fortnightly Twilight Sailing Series races in the Durban harbour.

Said Rose: ''People look forward to it midweek - they say a bad day's sailing is better than a good day at the office. It's probably the best sport. It's a combination of rugby, show-jumping and chess.

''When you're on the boat, you've got to get the team all working together. You've all got to be at one with the boat. You've got to be tactical about how you manoeuvre in keeping within the racing rules."

Wednesday evening races are a tradition for the sailing community worldwide. A race, involving various types of yachts of different sizes, begins and ends at an imaginary line between a mast flying an orange flag on a committee boat and a round red buoy.

Photographer Rogan Ward and I joined Rose's team of 10 aboard his 34-footer. After giving us some general safety pointers - ''don't panic unless you see me panicking" - we set out on a two-lap race. I was a non-swimmer out on more than 14 metres of churning green water. Yet the gut-churning terror I expected never came. Tilting so far sideways in a boat that sea water sloshes over the side is thrilling stuff.

''I'm going to die," I thought, but in my heart I didn't believe it. The team, from teenager Josh Baul to the oldest retiree, seemed too well-practised for us to be afraid.

Said Rose: ''We've got members from different walks of life. Everybody's equal. There are no class distinctions. That's one thing that sailing teaches us. When we're out on the water, the only thing above us is the elements, and we have to work together."

A few people are enamoured of the lifestyle enough to live on their boats. For everybody else, there are holiday sails to Mozambique, the Seychelles and the Mediterranean.

A Twilight Series race is scheduled for this evening.

The next takes place on December 10.

The Royal Natal Yacht Club invites anyone who is interested in participating in sailing to get in touch with Kearin on 031-301-5425.

Gautengers need not miss out just because they're inland. There are plenty of good sailing schools close by:

• Vaal Sailing Centre: www.vaalsailing.co.za or 083-294-1186
• Sail Benoni: 082-371-0904
• Croc's sailing centre in the Rietvlei Nature Reserve, Irene, Centurion: www.crocssailingcentre.co.za or 083-406-4870