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My first sailing experience began without sails but with a motor, as instructor Anthony McGovern of Hudson River Community Sailing took us out to the middle of the Hudson River, off Pier 66 in Chelsea.

Then it was time to get to work, helping fellow sailor Lee Bilsky raise the main sail. Once the "genoa" or "jib" was up -- that's the second sail -- we were sailing. Soon it was my turn to take over, using the tiller to steer the 24-feet-long vessel.

My lesson is just part of what the two-year-old not-for-profit organization has to offer.

"There's a lot of aspects to sailing. You can either make it competitive, you can make it really relaxing, you can make it a personal challenge," said Bill Bahen of the Hudson River Community Sailing.

Hudson River Community Sailing gives adults like me a chance to get a taste of sailing, but it also allows kids from all over the city a chance to find out what it is like to get out on once of these boats.

I took another voyage lead by interns, all city school kids who took part in one of Hudson River Community Sailing's youth programs. The goal is to develop leadership, teamwork and communication skills through sailing, and they admit, it can be a challenge.

"Everybody individually knows what they have to do, but getting everybody to work together can be hard," said sailing intern Davne Rozier.

When it all comes together, the kids say it's all worth it.

"You get to escape the city while still having the New York City backdrop in the background. It's a lot of fun," said sailing intern Manny Lebron.

"At first I never thought sailing was a thing I would really want to do until I had to do the afterschool program. But then I found that, wow, this is really, really cool," said sailing intern Calvin Williams.

The program teaches many more skills than sailing.

"They don't like learning math in school because it's boring. They're sitting in a classroom, it's very abstract," said Alex Baum of Hudson River Community Sailing. "But when they're out in the boat and they're learning math, it's fun, it's hands-on and it's exciting. They love that. And we love to see the impact of that, sort of sailing's ability to teach those other skills."

If you decide to give Hudson River Community Sailing a try, don't be afraid to ask for help getting out of the boat. Trust me.

For more information on the program, visit www.hudsonsailing.org.