Ways (videos/websites) where I could learn about sailing?

Racing?

Yes. :)

How big a boat and what kind? (sloop, ketch, yawl…)

Oh, jeez, I have no idea. Will find out, today, when we go out.

Whatever you know or don’t know, remember to immediately do what the skipper asks, you can ask why later. Have fun! And no, I don’t know of any videos, sorry, I learned practically before I could walk.
If you think of specific types of things, let me know, I used to teach sailing.

I will. Thanks, Jill!

I will ask the husband about videos; there are many good books on sailing. A standard one is **Chapman’s Piloting**. And Jill is absolutely right – the skipper is in charge and do what he or she says immediately. They will probably give you clear instructions on what to do. You should know port and starboard and fore and aft and what the masts are called…...

It can be intimidating but be patient with yourself and it should be fun.

Wear a life-vest and do what the captain says.
If you are not use to the Sun wear suntan lotion and a hat you can pull over your ears, think sailor’s hat. Wear sunglasses with high UVA and UVB blocking.
Wear comfortable shoes with non-marking soles. Clean the bottoms real well if you wear them in the dirt and sand.

sailing certification criteria
if by any chance you live in the DC area, hands-on sailing opportunities are plentiful
SCOW at Washington Sailing Marina, Daingerfield Island is even free!

Obviously, you’re not being asked to crew on a two-person dinghy. The crew on a boat that small has to know what he (or she) is doing, because there’s not much room for error on a racing dinghy.

So you’re going to be on a bigger boat doing one of two things, mostly: 1) preparing food for the crew in the galley (generally not a particularly onerous task: sandwiches and coffee, mainly – you won’t have the time or the room to prepare ‘meals’, and the crew won’t have time to enjoy them), and 2) sitting on the high side of the boat during beats to windward.

That’ll be pretty much it, I’d expect, until you do know more about what’s required. But that’s okay, because it will give you a chance to see what others do and how the boat is driven.

For starters, here is a video on rigging a sailboat. Check out some of his other very elementary sailing videos, and you’ll get a feel for some of the things that you’ll need to know. (Keep in mind that the Sunfish in the videos has a rig that is not at all like the one you’ll be on, but other than the rig itself, sailing is sailing. And no one is going to expect a beginning sailor to know much about how to rig a racing vessel, anyway. You’re a long way from that!)

You should have a basic idea of how to sail upwind. You can’t sail directly upwind, so you sail at angle to the wind and make a zigzag pattern by shifting from the left of the wind to the right of it.

In terms of basic physics

Video of going from one side of wind to the other

Watch out for the boom – the big pole that the bottom of the sail is held in. When the boat turns, it swings from one side to the other and can give you a painful crack on the head. It’s not much help to the crew if you are sprawled out on the deck clutching your head, moaning. So they tell me. I went sailing a few times and the drill was the person steering the boat shouted “Ready about”, the crew shouted “Ready”, The helmsperson then shouted “About turn”. At that point you ducked while moving from one side to the other. Always go to the high side.

Oh and if you get the chance to be strapped on to a wire to hang out of the side of the boat with just your feet on the rail then do it, do it, do it!! It is an amazing experience