Windsurfing Travel & Destinations Guide Worldwide

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Estonia: Adventure Holidays with a Nordic twist

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Posted by Mark Pawlak on 22nd August 2011

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Posted by Mark Pawlak on 23rd June 2011

Canary Islands holidays that chill and thrill

Canary Islands holidays are some of the most popular holiday choices in Europe, and it's easy to see why. With seven islands, each with its own identity, and a perfect combination of sea, sun, and sand and a little adventure, the islands will always... Read full post...

Posted by Mark Pawlak on 16th May 2011

Origin

In 1970, a surfer, Hoyle Schweitzer, and a sailor, Jim Drake, patented the ‘windsurfer’ and started manufacturing it in California. Legal battles followed, with Englishman, Peter Chilvers, and American, Newman Darby, both claiming to have initiated windsurf design.
As they argued about whose idea it was, Robby Naish was making it big as the first superstar windsurfer - he pushed it, popularised it and made it known on a global scale. Aged 13, he became the youngest ever windsurf world champion (1976), taking 24 world titles in his career. Naish is widely thought to be ‘the greatest windsurfer of all time’.
The 1980s was arguably the decade of windsurfing, with brands such as Mistral, F2 and BIC Sport all now manufacturing equipment. Since then, kit has become lighter, and easier to use, nurturing superstars such as three-times Freestyle World Champion Gollito Estredo, Wave-sailing World Champion Jason Polakow and GB Olympic medallists Bryony Shaw and Nick Dempsey.

Get Started

The basics of windsurfing are simple: Stand on the board, hold the sail by the boom, and use it to control direction and speed - but it’s not as easy as it sounds, especially without instruction.
Before forking out for lessons, first find out if you like it. Royal Yachting Association (RYA) windsurf centres run taster sessions, where you can give it a go. Look out for ‘National Windsurfing Week’, late May, which features nationwide tasters and offers promotions on courses.
Beginners start on steady ‘longboards’, learning in light winds. Progression involves planning, beach and water starts, and using the harness and foot-straps. The next step sees you move onto ‘shortboards’, and sailing in wind conditions of 15 knots and more.
RYA accredited centres around the world follow the ‘National Windsurfing Scheme’, a series of progressive, certified, windsurf courses. Stage one for beginners is the ‘START windsurfing’ course (8-10hrs). Students then progress though intermediate and advanced courses. Past this there are clinics to help develop more complex techniques, such as carve gybing and jumping.

Equipment

At the very least you’ll need swimwear and a towel; most training centres provide all equipment for beginners, including wetsuits, buoyancy aids and wetsuit boots or old trainers.
The first pieces of equipment worth buying are a wetsuit and harness; worthy investments that’ll see you through your windsurf career, from pupil to pro. Once hooked, windsurfers quickly become kit-geeks and collect a range of boards, fins and sails for different conditions. There’s a good market for second-hand kit and prices range from low to sky-high.
Safety rules are common sense guidelines for anyone going out into open water and remain as standard no matter what level you’re at: always check local weather conditions, tide and currents; let someone know when you’re out on the water, and remember: starboard tack has priority on the water.

Style

Within competitive windsurfing, there are many racing disciplines: Olympic (one-design boards), Formula (high-performance kit for light winds), Slalom (high-speed racing on narrow boards), Super-Cross (racing with freestyle moves and jumps) and Speed Racing (a straight 500m course).
Freestyle and Wave Sailing competitions are judged on technique and diversity. Freestyle involves performing acrobatic and aerial manoeuvres (such as Forward Loops). Wave-sailors incorporate freestyle manoeuvres, but do so on waves up to 70m high, one of the most challenging and famous spots for wave-sailers is ‘Jaws’, a massive wave just off the U.S. island of Maui.

Lingo

Beach-start: A method for getting into the sailing position from waist-deep water, without up-hauling.
Boom: A bar attached to the mast, used to control the movement of the sail.
Fin: Attachment, fitted underneath the board at the stern. It controls movement through the water.
Forward Loop: Aerial somersault of the board, sail and sailor
Gybe/jibe: A downwind turn. Challenging variations include carve-gybe and duck-gybe
Harness: Worn around your hips, hooks onto the harness lines to counterbalance the pull of the sail.
Harness lines: Adjustable hoops that dangle off the boom for the harness hook to hook in, and out of
Knots: A measurement of wind speed.
Long-board: A board more than 336 cm long.
Mast/foot/extension: A pole that supports the sail/attachment for connecting sail/elongates mast for larger sail fittings.
Planning: The board sails fast enough that the front two-thirds is out of the water.
One-design: A board specifically designed for racing where all equipment is identical.
Port: Left hand side when looking from the front of the board.
Quiver: Selection of different size sails for varying wind conditions (typically range from three to nine metres).
Short-board: A board less than 305cm long.
Starboard: The right hand when looking from the front of the board.
Tack: Direction of sail.
Universal-joint/UJ: A joint that allows the mast and sail to move through 360 degrees.
Up-haul: A rope attached to the boom, used to haul the sail and mast out of the water.
Water-start: A technique for getting into the sailing position in high-wind and in deep water.

Govern

International Sailing Federation (ISF): Responsible for organisation of world championships.
International Windsurf Association (IWA): Manages competitive windsurfing.
Professional Windsurf Association (PWA): Highest authority in international, professional competitive windsurfing.
Royal Yachting Association (RYA): Regulates consistency and standards in teaching and safety. Accreditation is recognised and used worldwide.
Student Windsurf Association (SWA): Promotes and co-ordinates student windsurfing in the UK.
Team Fifteen (T15): Affiliation of the RYA. Network of windsurf clubs for under 15s.
UK Windsurf Association (UKWA): Organisation for competitive windsurfing within the UK.

Packing

Beginner essentials:
Towels
Sunglasses
Factor
25+ waterproof sun-cream
Swimwear
Board shorts (if too warm for wetsuit)
Rash vest
Flip flops
Books/laptop (for non-windy days)
Hoody/warm comfy clothes (for after sailing/sitting on windy beaches)
Desirables:
Wetsuit suited to conditions
Harness
Neoprene boots
Taking own kit: All the above, plus…
Wave/freestyle board (dependent on conditions)
Board bag, fin, mast(s)
Boom(s)
Screwdriver for fins
UJ
Sail quiver (sizes dependent on conditions)
Mast foot
Mast extension
Ding repair stick
Waterproof mobile phone case

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