I'm a bit surprised that windsurfing is not mentioned as a way to get started in sailing. IMHO there are a lot of parallels with high-performance sailboats like cats, skiffs, etc. like the use of a trapeze, rig and sail tuning (and lots of swimming<img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />).
