Sailing: like Coffee, but better. (Like Sailor... Moon?)

So, I was chatting with one of my friends, and we were talking about first dates, how the whole "let's go for coffee" is so... blah.

So, I suggested he take up sailing, since it's fun, and it's a cool idea as a first date type thing to do. I mean, it's not something crazy physical (like kayaking, and not everyone likes to get wet), or paintballing (you don't really have time to chat), and it's not as long as dinner and a movie (getting "stuck" at a dinner date is not cool. When you have nothing to say and nothing in common, you can't get away. At least in a movie, you have something else as distraction.). A first date should be something relaxed, where you can talk and get to know the person, and have a relatively easy way of escape for both parties if things go bad. That's why coffee works so well, since it's relaxed, and great for chatting.

Also, first dates (test-date, I guess) should also have the ability to lead into something longer. If you're having coffee at 2pm, then unless you've been talking for 4 hours, the idea of dinner will only a plan. If you have coffee at 4pm (or tea and scones, if you're British), you might be able to tie it over to dinner: "Hey, I know this great Chinese/Italian/Deli/McDonalds". And obviously, I'm not talking about the Seinfeld "midnight coffee".

But the biggest problem with coffee, is originality. Everybody and their grandma's dog does coffee. It's so... blah. Yes, a first date (or any date) isn't really about the thing that you're doing, but that you're spending time/getting to know the person (thus coffee works), but you don't make friends with salad. I mean, you don't want it to be remembered as "just another coffee encounter."

Thus, sailing fits the bill. It's light (no sweating involved), good for conversation (you even have two starters right there: "Have you gone sailing before?" and "How long have you been doing this for?"), and extends into anything very naturally (even coffee: "I know this great little coffee shop...").

If you think it's too much of a "This guy's taking me sailing? What does he want?", then you haven't initiated it properly. Should more be: "Hey, I was going to go sailing on Saturday, why don't you come along?"

Sailing, then, only fails on the "escape" aspect. You're trapped on a boat. And so's she. But you can always keep it short, by, well, not sailing so far (if she starts talking about... nothing, or, how, like, her friend Cindy is so totally just jealous of her other friend Sara's new boyfriend since Charlie has a new red car, and how they totally just need to, like, stop telling her about it, then you should make a quick tack and practise your docking skills). And if things go poorly for her, she'll give you the standard "I have to meet a friend/see my sick grandma at the hospital/need walk the dog/wash my hair", at which point, you can just sail back (unless there's no wind...). But it makes up this minor escape flaw in originality. In spades. I mean, how many people doesn't want to go sailing? Or go sailing so much that they would pass up the opportunity?

Unless she's like, Sailor Moon or something.