Sailing has been my hobby for 35 years. In the warm waters of Malaysia, I usually started sailing (in a small dinghy) by doing a capsize drill and finished with another capsize drill. I moved to New Zealand in 1995. Here, I found that the water is freezingly cold. So, I use a larger boat. Large trailer yachts cannot capsize but they cannot plane either. However, they are excellent for cruising and for exploring the many fresh water lakes near Rotorua and Taupo.
My very first sail boat in 1979 was nothing much but a piece of plank with a sail on it. It was a Sunfish. There was a centre board, rudder, a mast and one sail. It was even too small to be called a dinghy. The hull was made of fibre glass and it was small, meant for one person only. I first launched the Sunfish in the river near the Lutong bridge.
