r/windsurfing

I come From Holland, just landed from 3omths Bonaire as a surf instructor and looking for my next spot! What places do y'all recommend?

Spot needs to have work and I'm trying to live from my income there, so Bonaire is a struggle when alone as salary is low and expenses are high

For now on the list was(not in order) ;

- Dakhla

- Tenerife(el Medano)

- Australia

- Bonaire (But peak cruise season which sucks on such a small island I've heard)

- Tarifa

• Langebaan south Africa

H

Thanks

Sup'

Went windsurfing yesterday, expected 14-16 knots and only got like 11. My disappointment is immeasurable and my afternoon ruined.

We were like 5 on the water at some point, had my 7.8, another dude had a 7.7 and a badass looking ~150L JP board. None of us manage to get planning, except **that one guy with a 7.0 and an old Bic board**. He smiled at us like he had some superpower and watched us poor mortals suffering in a constant non-planning state.

I saw him get out of the water, and I noticed he had some kind of little foil (long mast, but a really small wing at the top of it). Didn't managed to talk to him about his black magic, so I'm asking here if any of you know about this.

On the water, his board wasn't flying like an usual foil, but stood out a bit from the water when he went against waves. Otherwise it looked like a regular windsurf gear.

I want to know his secrets

I’m windsurfing for about a year and I never navigated on the sea, just on lakes. And I am a little nervous about it (because of the sharks, jellyfish…). Any tips since I fall still often ?
Thanks

Just moved to Barcelona and I am looking for a Watersport to pick up. I've always been curious about windsurfing, is 39 too old to start?

I am pretty athletic and in good shape, I train BJJ 2-3x a week and I am a decent snowboarder.

Ideally, I could devote 3-4 days a month to learn Windsurfing. Is that enough to get decent and enjoy it without killing my body? Just trying to have realistic expectations ;) thanks!

Sup' fellow windsurfers !

I just broke my old 6.5 sail. Time for a new (used) mid size sail!

Found 2 good offers :

Point 7 ACK 6.4 - 2016

Duotone Stype SL - 2020

I'm 75 kg, usually on a 124l fanatic falcon (awesome board) or a 108L fanatic hawk (way less often), on a pretty flat spot.

I already have a north sails f_type 7.8 that I really like, and want to find a 2-3 cambers sail in ~6.5 for my freeride sessions.

Both sails are in a similar price range, and I have a 430 imcs 21 mast, and a 460 imcs 25 mast (better shape than the 430 mast - think it could be used on the duotone)

Can't find much infos about these sails, what would you suggest?

Hey everyone! I searched around Reddit but haven't found a clear answer for my setup.

- Rider weight: 85 kg

- Background: Years of conventional sailing, but no prior wing/windsurf experience.

- Goal: Wing-surfing on a standard board (on a tight budget, so no foil in the near future).

I recently bought a cheap wing and tried riding it on an old 109L windsurf board, but it was impossible to stay balanced.

I'm looking at used 130L-150L freeride windsurf boards around €300, but none of them have a centered daggerboard.

Will a 130L-150L daggerboard-less freeride board actually work for winging, or will I just drift downwind continuously?

Hi all,

I’ve been windsurfing for quite some time now and i’ve recently decided to upgrade my old gear to a new board and managed to get a good deal on a carbon freeride/freerace board. It’s amazing on the water but a new downside for me is that it gets easily scratched (in the paint, not structural), by just looking at it wrong. Most of the scratches seem to come from handling the board on land.

I need to store my board in a locker which is also filled with the old board and other surfing equipment (boom, mast, sails). I am looking for ways to protect my board when handling it around the locker.

Here’s the question: a board bag seems to be the best way to protect the board, but i’ve read a lot about not storing a wet board in a bag. The footstraps can stay wet for days and I surf on fresh water. Is putting the board in a bag with the zipper open and the footstraps exposed (after having dried the rest with a towel) my best option or should I try something else before I further damage the board? Thanks!

I have been windsurfing for around 10 years now. I am a small rider (F, 164cm tall, around 52kg). So far, I have been renting gear, but I was wondering whether it's a good moment to buy my own gear, or simply continue to progress for a while longer and buy a smaller board once I get better.

I plane and waterstart comfortably, learning gybes rn. I usually go for a 100l board (depending on what they have available). My plan is to learn how to gybe well first!

What would you recommend?

Hi everyone! It has been some time since i wanted to make this post, discuss a few things that trouble me and see other people's experiences but procrastination hit hard.

I have been windsurfing for 9 years now, bought my own gear and decided to progressively acquire more "state of the art equipment" by buying unused stuff. Back then, when i started doing so, i decided to move on with Neilpryde gear so my whole "arsenal" consists of Neilpryde masts, booms, sails etc.

I have really been troubled lately by the quality that Neilpryde offers and the design choices that they make. Don't get me wrong, I hugely praise the performance and feel of my Combat & Atlas sails, but I believe questioning some things is totally not wrong.

Example 1:

2 years ago I acquired a Fusion HD 2023 6.5mm sail. All hyped up, I set it up following exactly the recommended sizes printed on the sail only to see this result:

https://preview.redd.it/ws3jn7tbjrjh1.jpg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7fdd10b80b5310fd2a9b20fc0f6a41952ae530fe

Tried to play around with the battens length with the small screw on its end but the batten itself was so smaller than what it should be that I never managed to tighten the sail properly. (The photo is with the screw at its longest position). Contacted the shop, shop contacted NP, NP refused to do something and the shop agreed to sent me a new longer batten that I had to cut on the proper length to fix the sail. (I have to give many thanks to the local dealer since he gave me the batten for free). But from NP's side, totally unacceptable behavior for a new product i had just bought.

Example 2:

I have been using NP's MXT extension and base (photo bellow)

https://preview.redd.it/6l8hp9l9krjh1.png?width=746&format=png&auto=webp&s=811f20d61de55ae43722d064fc3409aa0bac89e6

I always check the condition of the tendon before sailing, had mine for 2 years, condition of the tendon was perfect and that is why i kept using it. One month ago, while having a slalom session, my sail simply left the board. Took me some seconds to understand what had happened. Turns out the part that had betrayed me was not the tendon but the internal safety nut inside the upper part of the base. Here is the photo after I assembled it again:

https://preview.redd.it/3etj80ypkrjh1.jpg?width=1800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3645003574a38d8024036a7213653b0d04037cda

The safety nut was unscrewed and the upper part of the bolt was slightly chopped of as you can see. Left me alone in the open sea aprox 1 mile away from the beach and I had to swim back, took me an hour to do so and thankfully the adventure ended well. I just ask myself, they had plenty of room inside the fucking base, why didn't they place a bolt just 5mm longer?

Example 3:

Two years ago i got a new NP aluminum boom, its was the 27mm diameter design. Last year, after only one year in water, I saw the when i got hit by a gust, the right side of the boom (only the right side, and only when it was on the downwind side and only with my 5.0mm combat sail) got unclipped from its initial position and was re-clipped back 4cm shorter. More specifically, i clipped the boom on 28cm, heard the sound and found it re-clipped on 24cm. Had to reset it in the water, aprox. 5-6 times per hour of sailing. Here is the photo of the pins and the boom's inner part.

https://preview.redd.it/4kfsfndxlrjh1.jpg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=74e46d33c091b0f6eb0d490376078b9e673d28c5

https://preview.redd.it/yt9sondxlrjh1.jpg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4460184adf65f5d56cf344d13a36ab53bdff550a

It is definitely not the pins fault, since this happens only when using the 28cm position of the boom, with other sails i have no issue. Finding the boom CLIPPED and not unclipped in another position is totally crazy, you can see the marks that the clips have created on the boom inner part when sliding from the 34cm position back to 24cm position. All these on a 2 year old boom while my surf-mate uses 15year old stuff that seem to be immortal. First thing that comes in my mind is that this happens due to the sudden deformation that happens on the boom while stressed by a strong gust. But again, regarding the design choice NP has made, why not just use a pin just 2-3mm longer?

I would love to hear your opinions on all these cases as well as your experiences with NP (or other popular brand) equipment.

Hey everyone,

I'm a beginner looking to get my first wing foiling setup. I've been wave surfing most of my life, but I recently moved near a lake where the wind usually hovers around 8-11 knots.
I recently started windsurfing been windsurfing for few months, but I want to transition to wing foiling mostly because the gear is much more compact and easier to manage and works better in light winds.
I need equipment that will work well for a beginner in light wind, but won't get boring as I progress or hold me back.
What board, foil, and wing would you recommend for these conditions? Thanks!

I'm a beginner learning to windsurf.

Today, during a session with around 10–11 knots of wind, I lost control and fell into the water. The rig landed perfectly on top of the board.

The problem was that, with the rig sitting on the board rather than in the water, the wind could catch it and generate quite a lot of force, pushing the board quickly downwind.

I started swimming after it, but I couldn't catch up — it was moving too fast.

Fortunately, after a while the rig fell into the water, the wind stopped pushing the board, and I was finally able to reach it.

This got me thinking: would a leash be a good way to prevent this kind of situation?

Any advice from more experienced windsurfers?

I had my second self-thought lesson today, downsized the board (they had almost the same as I am buying - BIC/Tahe Beach 160D) and stupidly upsized the sail.
There was not much wind but the first sail -5.8 m2- felt f@cking heavy (maybe because it's a renting company?) and even the second one 4.8 m2 was difficult, but than at the same time, as was physically exhausted and hungry, so probably that didn't help.

Having conversation with Google AI, it says:

"If a 6.2m² or 6.5m² still feels psychologically intimidating because of your rough session, let's compromise on a perfect middle ground: 5.5 m² to 5.8 m² No-Cam Freeride.

Look for a 5.5m² or 5.7m² Freeride sail. It will give your 160L board enough power to glide smoothly on a lake, but it will be physically small and light enough to give you total peace of mind."

What do you guys think? You are the experts not google.

Thank you again for your help!

So basically, I’ve been windsurfing for about five years now. I’m comfortable with most aspects of the sport, although I’m still working on my planing jibe and waterstart.

I’d like to start getting into freestyle windsurfing. I’ve been practicing my jumps and feel very comfortable with them, so I’m wondering what some of the first freestyle moves I should learn would be, as well as what kind of gear would be best to use.

At the moment, I have a 94L freestyle-wave board and 4.2 and 5.0 sails, which I was thinking of using.

However, I’m not sure whether it would be better to learn freestyle on something like a 102L or 115L freestyle-wave board, for example.

So, basically, my questions are:
What gear would you recommend for starting freestyle?
What are some good first moves to learn?
Should I mainly practice in flat water, or is it better to start in choppy conditions?