Some of the most tedious parts of OSRS are content that's hard to get to, like Slayer tasks that don't have an easy teleport, or Phosani's Nightmare, or quests with long and winding mazes (like the Ape Atoll Dungeon in Monkey Madness). We enjoy the content itself, not the process of getting there.

But Sailing, by definition, is all about "getting there." Maybe you've unlocked some crazy fun island boss. Maybe there's a reef you want to chart (for whatever reward that gives you), or some fishing area with great XP/hour. And you know what? There are NO TELEPORTS to reach those places.

You've got to sail, all the way from whatever port you've chosen to the content itself. There's no fast travel. You're sailing the whole way. And the more distant the content, the slower the ship, meaning it's going to take even longer.

With something like Farming, we all understand that there will be large periods of time where we're not getting XP. That's how growing plants works. But the difference is that you can actually do something while your plants are growing. What are you going to do while you're sailing at .5 tiles per tick (half walking speed) to get to your advanced Sailing content? You've got to stay on the boat.

In order for this skill to be even remotely enjoyable, it's not good enough to have points of interest in the ocean. You also need to be able to constantly be doing engaging things on your ship while it's sailing. Otherwise, all you're doing is traveling and waiting, traveling and waiting, until you finally get to the thing you trained the skill for.

Boats are cool. I get it. The tech demo looks great. But I guarantee that the appeal of Sailing is going to be gone as soon as the novelty wears off and reality sets in.

Give me a real old school skill. Give me something like hole digging where we get 28k xp/hr at max efficiency. I'm playing OLD SCHOOL Runescape lets keep it that way.

The most annoying and boring content in osrs is the interface system. When I hear interface, I think of things like: crane random event, making lamp oil, zogre flesh eaters machine fixing, hot air balloon route discovery, and even clue scroll puzzles. These things are more of an annoyance than they are enjoyable. I don’t see how it could be enjoyable upon release.

And I also agree wasd is NOT a good pick for osrs. And the point and click method could seem just really unappealing. I honestly don’t know what’s best. A chat interface and letting rng do its think when it comes to discovering? NPC voyaged missions and letting you know if your captain discovered a new island? This is a tough one guys but god please don’t let it be interface driven like it is in the examples I listed.

Sailing is at best mini-game content and taming is literally a hunter expansion. There's only one correct decision to be made here. Shamanism gets added as a skill, taming content gets packaged into hunter as an expansion to make hunter more well-rounded and versatile, and sailing gets added as mini-game content.

WASD controls arent in the spirit of OSRS, and interfaces have been historically disliked by players. I suggest a dual-approach to sailing:

Allow players to easily navigate in local waters (short distances) or more mechanically set sail on the open seas (long distances).

Short distances near land (the shallows) should be simple point-and-click without going deep into ship mechanics.

When sailing long distances, or over deeper waters, players should pick their desired ocean destination. Then, have them work on the ship's mechanics to get there (similar to how Sea of Thieves works). During this time, there would also be space for random ocean events/distractions.

Mistakes made during navigation sets you off-course, but you should be able to readjust your destination or set anchor at any point. Stopping would allow for the simple point-and-click local movement until you decide to set sail again.

Better ships = less work or quicker long-distance navigation.

EDIT: To clarify, "sailing longer distances" would be a HUD option when entering navigation (probably by clicking the helm). It would bring up the world map where you can set your destination similarly to how clicking the minimap currently works. Then you just have to maintain the ship while you get there, or stop at any moment to explore wherever you may find yourself.

From the Q&A Stream. We'll be able to sail with other players

Zeah, Fossil Island, Fremmy Isles have all been expansions to the world. Exploration being unlocked by quests is the OSRS status quo. Having that come from a skill seems like a weird draw for me. If you want expansions, just ask for that.

EDIT: I should say the same for the spirit realm in shamanism. Support a skill because you like the skilling loop, theme, etc.
Just to state my bias, I am leaning towards shamanism because I like that skilling loop and interaction with the existing game world the most.