One other point about racing... the fine sail trim techniques you can learn while racing will prove to be invaluable when you're out cruising, especially if you've learned how to maximize boat speed in light winds.
About the OPYC, it helps if you're handy and willing to learn about doing stuff on the boat. People who help out are generally asked to crew more often than people who just show up for the ride. You can also learn quite a bit about those maintenance and repair tasks and generally pick up a few pointers on them in the process, which is always a good thing to do before actually having to use said knowledge on your own boat.
__________________
Sailingdog
Telstar 28
New England
You know what the first rule of sailing is? ...Love. You can learn all the math in the 'verse, but you take
a boat to the sea you don't love, she'll shake you off just as sure as the turning of the worlds. Love keeps
her going when she oughta fall down, tells you she's hurting 'fore she keens. Makes her a home.
—Captain Malcolm Reynolds, Serenity (slightly edited)
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