Reddit mentions of Sailing: A Woman's Guide

> o idea what "main the rails" even means? Is there a way to learn this stuff that doesn't cost a fortune?

Totally - there's tons of books and online learning about sailing:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/673.The_Complete_Sailor

https://www.amazon.com/Sailing-Womans-Guide-Doris-Colgate/dp/0070067201

(despite the title it's really well regarded on an intro to sailing)

And of course loads of info on www.USSailing.org

Man the rails, is a polite way of saying you are movable ballast on a boat to help keep it upright : )

But knowing the basics on how to man (and operate) a winch etc is a good place to start, if it is something you want to get into. Also in summer quite a few places offer introduction to sailing if you are interested for not a huge amount. *(And you'll learn if it's for you)

Also (depending on your age) there are quite a few community programs to get young people onto the water. Sailing a yacht, especially in windy conditions is great for fostering highly coordinated team work.

http://www.sailchicago.org/community-outreach/

http://www.carpeventus.com/

http://www.discoverboating.com/boating-courses/youth-boating-programs.aspx?page=48&age-group=0&youth-program-type=0&season-coverage=0&radius=0

Try buying her one or both of these books:

http://www.sailingforwomen.net/SailingInBalance.htm

http://www.amazon.com/Sailing-Womans-Guide-Doris-Colgate/dp/0070067201

And look: women are, generally, much more hesitant about sailing because they've got the rougher end of the stick most of the time.

Women are more sensitive to smell and cold; they haven't got the upper body strength which is so useful, they get more seasick; hygiene can be a real drag; they're usually crew and galley slaves and cleaners more often than captains, and they almost always get yelled at by their male partners who act as captain.

And, frankly, the comments in this thread, which for the most part seem to consist of: 'Dump her, you pussy, or get a girlfriend.', are characteristics of the whole ass-hole macho mind-set of a lot of sailors that get them their longed-for divorces and, later, see them sailing alone and wondering why no female wants to join them.

If your wife won't even talk about it, but can't come out with why, she's frightened. She's not unjustified - there are a lot of things to be frightened about.

What I would suggest is get good at sailing yourself - really good; good enough that you can sail without having to shout or get into a flap. Join a club or group of friends, enjoy your hobby, take the kids, persuade your wife to come to events, and ease her into the life slowly.