Everyone has their own answer to this question, but the main idea is:
Sailing forms a special form of consciousness and mental activity.
First of all, attentiveness and observation develop. Getting on a yacht for the first time, it is often difficult to understand what is happening on the yacht and the water in general. Where the wind blows, which you cannot see, where the current is going, which is also not obvious; where we need to go at all, and why can’t we just go straight. To answer all these questions, and analyze the events, you need these qualities.

If we talk about racing on sailing yachts, then a racer eventually develops his own philosophy: knowledge is strength. There are many healthy yachtsmen, but only smart ones win! That is, in addition to good physical shape, strength, and endurance, there is a thirst for knowledge. The brain requires food in the form of books, lectures, seminars of experienced racers, the study of the racing rules of sailing (RRS), including numerous comments on the rules (ISAF Case Book). You start thinking about such things as: why am I sailing slower than others when I seem to be doing the same thing?

Over time, strategic and tactical thinking appears. Very quickly you begin to realize that while understanding the mechanisms of work of wind and water, strategy and tactics are of great importance in racing. You must calculate a game of «chess on the water» while still on the shore, evaluating many factors: the current weather and forecast, your opponents, the yacht (its running characteristics), the crew on it, the strengths and weaknesses of the team, the route scheme, the plan for the race and much more. But as always, everything will not go according to the plan (expectations vs reality), and here you will definitely need to quickly make other decisions, adjust the initial plan, and act.

So, my favorite saying «practice makes perfect» is the best way to train all these skills.

What no yachtsman can do without is a sense of time. Developing timing is not always easy. Again, this is all about training and practice on the water in different wind conditions. How long will it take for the boat to cover distance «X» with a wind speed of 5 knots? And if there are 8 knots? Or a gust of 20 knots? Or there is an opponent ahead of you who has closed the «gate» for you, and you need to be able to instantly count the timing and be able to improvise!

Sailing is also a way to deal with your fears. Someone does not know how to swim, someone is afraid to fall overboard, someone is an introvert, but at the same time needs to be able to communicate with the crew. Someone is afraid of lightning and starts panicking in an emergency. Every time you go on a yacht, you can look fear in the eyes, make friends with it, and then finally overcome it.

If you want to know a person — take him to the boat! After several hours on a yacht, all masks are removed, their true qualities and values are revealed. This is the surest way to find out who is next to you.

But definitely sailing is very good for the brain! Even after two hours on the water, you begin to feel like a different person, as if you have rested for a week somewhere far away. Sometimes, when you come to work the next day, you forget your computer password!

For everyone, sports yachting will open its amazing new world, full of adventure, unexplored places, new friends. It will teach you how to work in a team, and new neural connections will appear in the brain. There will be a bonus of getting paranormal abilities to see with the back of the head, feel the gusts of the wind with the neck, hear the oscillations of the wind with your ears, and other smart methods of telepathy.