Windsurfing!

Does anyone windsurf?

I sail and SUP a bit and fancy a go. Trying to arrange a taster.

Any secondhand kit I should be looking for on ebay?

Cheers,

Mick

kitesurfing seems to have almost completely replaced windsurfing down here in the westcountry.

Learn to Kitesurf instead.

It’s infinitely cooler & the kit is easier to transport 😁

Also have a look at wingsailing/wingfoiling.

Learn to Kitesurf instead.

Or wingsurfing/wingfoiling

I windsurf, or I used to. The kit still languishes in the workshop taking up too much room for the use it gets.

It’s very much a tales of two experiences. The beginner experience is much much easier than it was back in the day, but it’s not an adrenaline thing. To get going on a shortboard doing the sort of stuff you thought you’d want to windsurf for is quite a learning curve.

The only advantage of windsurfing over wingsurfing or kite surfing is that there are thousands of people like me with a garage full of the stuff that they’d probably be prepared to let go for very little. Kitesurfing/wing surfing kit won’t come cheap.

Random thought….some sup boards come with a track for mounting a windsurf sail. If your idea of windsurfing is a mellow waft about in mild breezes having a sup board that will also do windsurf duties might be what you are after.

The kit still languishes in the workshop taking up too much room for the use it gets

last time i went to the tip, there was a old guy emptying a whole van of boards, masts and sails into one of the skips. must have been tens of thousands of pounds worth of kit back in the day.

As others have said I’d rather learn to kite than windsurf. I windsurfed a lot as teenager but stopped when I went to university.

Then learnt to kite aged about 35 and been doing that intermittently since (about 15 years). I’m not the most competent kiter but can handle myself well in surf and pretty pokey winds now, just never really tried to apply myself learning tricks, not least as my nearest beach is a two hour drive. Just so much easier on the kit portability too, I used to be able to get all my gear in a z4 coupe!

Nahh, it can’t be kite. I can’t do that on my local reservoir.

One of the reasons for doing this is that I spend a lot of time there and figured why not get a board and give it a go. I get a bit bored SUPing and feel that I should utilise the wind when it’s there

Mick

You want a SUP with a mast track then. Plus a 5.3 and 6.2 sail 430 mast and boom. Thats as little as you can get awsy with to be able to motor around in 15knots plus.
Avoid any sail over 10 years old if you can
Get a RDM mast as they are lightweight and strong.
Ally boom, chinook are a good entry level brand.
Avoid bundles of 90s nostalgia from ebay. It will be crap.
Facebook has a couple of buy and sell pages where the price is realistic.

This is what you need to do then……

Sam is quite the force of nature on the UK kiteboarding and wingfoiling scene. This beginner DIY way into wing surfing with your existing SUP sounds just the ticket in your situation.

^^ those wing things are just odd.

go dingy sailing or windsurfing if its windy. just hire kit unless you know you are going to use it. to get enough windsurf kit to cover a range of wind strengths is not cheap.

SUP on a lake is a fairly pointless activity unless you have kids and are using it as a diving platform. or are jousting with others. basically making yourself fall in.

Windsurfed since the mid 70s (coming up to 50 years!) then shifted to kitesurfing haven’t windsurfed much apart in the last 15 years from the odd day here and there using kit borrowed from a mate who has a centre. Kited a but but am so out of practice the upper body strength and co-ordination has gone. Tried a Wing a few weeks back on a SUP and can see the potential but going to the coast for a week tomorrow and will be hoping to get in a week of wingfoil tuition from said mate.

Seems to be the way forward for me in the flatter water I’ll mainly be in.

Born again windsurfer here. Did loads as a teenager but then stopped when the family arrived. Started up again at the start of lock down, bought some secondhand kit and now I try and get out when it’s windy – albeit on a local gravel pit that’s really gusty.

I’ve just qualified as an rya instructor and I’d recommend going on a course to learn the basics – it’ll get you up and running quicker than trying to flounder about by yourself.

Are you anywhere near Nottingham (I’m guessing not with that user name) as we run 2 day beginner courses?

Not tried the new wing / wind foiling yet but would like to but the price of kit puts me off at the moment

Windsurfed almost as long as Eddiebaby….still do, a lot. And started windfoiling (windsurfing on a foiling board) year before last for the light wind days. Still love it, and there’s a very healthy windsurfing scene here (Gower)…..there’s way more windsurfers than kiters.

Am about to try wingfoiling but it won’t replace windsurfing/wavesailing for me.

As someone up there said, a SUP with a masttrack and a couple of 5 year old sails will see you right for pootling on a lake to start with.

Not sure I fancy waving a wing about. Why would that be better than windsurfing? Aren’t they expensive?

My sup is an 12’8 inflatable touring board, I reckon that would be pretty horrific to control.

I am trying to sort out a taster near me. I don’t really fancy the 2 day course. I know all the sailing theory so don’t want to pay for and sit through that.

Mick

It’s a difficult sport to enjoy in the first year or so. Lots of effort for minimal reward. But as soon as you get on the plane, in the footstraps, in a harness you will get a huge buzz. It’s like sailing but faster and cooler.

My advice is to get through the basics on your reservoir this summer. Then book a warm holiday in Greece or similar at a windsurf centre to supercharge your learning.

I’m out of touch with beginner kit, so no advice on eBay purchases.

My sup is an 12’8 inflatable touring board, I reckon that would be pretty horrific to control.

Yep!

Not sure I fancy waving a wing about. Why would that be better than windsurfing?

It wouldn’t, unless you were using it with a foiling board…and that does get expensive!

It’s a difficult sport to enjoy in the first year or so. Lots of effort for minimal reward.

I dunno about that, I’ve probably windsurfed a dozen times in my life, spread throughout my life, and every time I’ve found it fun. Understanding wind and sails from sail as a child probably helped. Kitesurfings never appealed though.

Take yourself off to Lanzarote and do it there. Great fun. And go out of season to avoid the crowds.

It wouldn’t, unless you were using it with a foiling board…and that does get expensive!

I’d look at it the other way…..learn to use a wing now with your current sup (and a small mod) and if you like it foiling board is the next significant purchase to add to the Wong you have already mastered.

Wingfoiling is certainly the latest craze but if I’m honest it looks a whole lot less fun than kitesurfing or kitefoiling from my perspective as a Kitesurfer. However it would be a much more suitable option for a lake which will have much less clean wind. As others have said there nowt to stop you having a go with a wing and an SUP before you consider investing in a wingfoil board.

.learn to use a wing now with your current sup

You can learn to use a wing on SUP in a day….then you’ve got nowhere to progress to on SUP.

Not sure I fancy waving a wing about. Why would that be better than windsurfing?

I have two boards and five sails,booms,masts wetsuits etc if fancy some cheap kit(starboard boards) so not too old.