I don't think I implied that it is easier to learn to drive a car. I just think it is a lot easier for most people to find their way around on land, where you have roads and you have to stay between the lines and you have signs and signals to tell you what to do.

It is intimidating, especially for new sailors, to be turned loose on a big, open body of water with other boats of all different speeds zipping around in every conceivable direction. Heck, I've been sailing all my life, and it is intimidating to me, too.

It is not enough to intellectually know the right-of-way rules and use common sense -- you have to know the rules well enough to try to avoid a potential collision and also to instinctively and instantaneously respond correctly to a potential collision situation when it's right in your face.