Couple said they sailed into dream job

Jim Niebauer and his wife, Ginny, went sailing together a few years back and loved the experience so much that they said they decided to quit their jobs and open a sailboat rental business.

They opened Austin Sailboat Rentals, LLC in December 2012 on Lady Bird Lake near I-35 with little sailing experience, so they try to cater to customers who have not sailed previously.

"I bought one of those little sailboats, a little Snark, just for me and [Ginny] on a Sunday afternoon to go play in the water," Niebauer said. "We fell in love with it, actually, and while we were on the water people were constantly asking, 'Where did you get those? Where can I rent one of those?' So it gave us the idea that there may be a need for this service in Austin."

Austin Sailboat Rentals remains the only sailboat rental business on Lady Bird Lake, he said.

"For those people who have always wanted to sail and didn't have the means to train on the big boats—because it is expensive, and most of the time you have to be the member of some yacht club or something like that—we [offer] our customers the opportunity to sail very affordably," he said.

Sailing can be a different experience depending on how the wind is behaving, he said.

"It can be, on a light wind day, very relaxing—or on the windy days, it can be quite an adrenaline rush because that boat is flying," Niebauer said. "It's exhilarating."

Austin Sailboat Rentals will host a summer sailing camp for children ages 6–15 through August and continue offering various rentals through the rest of the year. Niebauer said the couple has taught between 1,500 and 2,000 people of all ages to sail so far.

Austin Sailboat Rentals, 20 N. I-35, 512-815-0980, www.austinsailboatrentals.com