My first real sailing instruction was as a Scoutmaster at Camp Steiner, which at 10,000 feet in the Rockies is the highest elevation scout camp in north America. My two oldest sons, then age 13 and 11, took the Small Boat Sailing Merit Badge.
I sat through each of the classes with them, and went sailing for several hours that week. We sailed small day sailers, a Walker Bay and an ODay. The Walker Bay had a dagger board, and we figured out why it is called a dagger board. I was laying on my back across the center seat as my boys navigated around a small island in the lake. Just then the boat ran aground, shoving the dagger board upward into the center of my back. It was really funny – to be stabbed by a daggerboard. We (by we I mean they) joke about it to this day.
With my boys interested in sailing, I felt it my paternal prerogative and duty to find a day sailer we could use in our community lake. Two months later I found a Venture 21 at a yard sale, and brought her home. Honestly, I was scared to death. 21 feet of boat was huge compared to what we had sailed at camp. But we were sure we could figure it out. Somehow.
A week later, we took her out on our first sailing trip on the Great Salt Lake. I’d never trailer-launched a boat before, and it took us the better part of an hour to figure it out. The kids were all speaking with their best pirate accents, which was really amusing. Eventually we did get her off the trailer and over to the docks. 
Unbeknownst to us, a few Old Salts had gathered on a nearby dock to watch the festivities. When we finally got the boat over to the dock, they broke into cheers and applause for us. We got the boat in the water, loaded up and headed out. All 8 of us. It was a light wind night with a beautiful sunset. Winds were about 6 knots, and the water was as smooth as glass.
The kids absolutely loved it. 
We sailed around for a couple hours that evening, never daring to stray more than a mile from the marina. As a former waterfront director, I probably went a little overboard with safety. (Oh wait, “overboard” and “safety” are opposites. But you get my meaning.)
The Venture 21 was a great first boat for us. We sailed her often and really enjoyed every trip that fall. The boys’ favorite
place to hang out on these sailing trips was the bow pulpit. Standing up there watching the water glide along underneath is quite a feeling.
It took us about an hour to rig and de-rig the boat for each trip, but somehow we still managed to get out and sail each week. M
onday night is our dedicated “Family Night”, and we spent most of them out sailing until it got too cold.
We learned a lot that fall, and I read everything I could find on sailing. 
We practiced tacking, jibing, and I made a long list of upgrades I wanted to make on the boat. We got better at rigging and de-rigging, so we could put in and take out in about 30 minutes. The sunsets on the Great Salt Lake are almost always stunning, even long after the sun goes down.
I could see that sailing was becoming a hobby that the whole family could enjoy together. And it was high quality family time, with no interruptions, no distractions, no interference from the outside. Just everyone talking, joking, and working together to sail the boat.
Later that fall we moved from our home near the Great Salt Lake to Lehi, Utah, about 50 miles to the south. The next spring we started sailing on a large freshwater lake about 2 miles from the house, Utah Lake. The next year three of us would travel down to the Gulf of Mexico for ASA certification.