How to Learn Basic Windsurfing

A quick and easy guide to getting started in the world of windsurfing

Part 1
Part 1 of 3:

The Kit

  1. Image titled Learn Basic Windsurfing Step 1
    1
    Knowing your kit is helpful as when others give you advice you need to know what they are talking about. The kit is divided into two parts; the board and rig. The board is the surfboard-like part you stand on, and has one or more fins and daggerboards (on some models) underwater.
  2. Image titled Learn Basic Windsurfing Step 2
    2
    Remember that when starting the daggerboard, it should be down at all times. You can do this by pulling the big nob towards the rear, or stern, of the board to lower and towards the front, or bow, to raise when packing away.
    Advertisement
  3. Image titled Learn Basic Windsurfing Step 3
    3
    Know that there will also be foot straps and a deck plate to hold the rig on. The rig consists of a sail, mast and boom. The boom is the bit you hold on to, but the mast can be used for support. A cord should run from the boom to the bottom of the mast, this is the uphaul and is used to pull the sail up. The boom often has harness lines hanging from it.[1]
    4. Advertisement
Part 2
Part 2 of 3:

Basics of Starting

  1. Image titled Learn Basic Windsurfing Step 4
    1
    Push the board out into deep water until the fin is clear of the bottom.
  2. Image titled Learn Basic Windsurfing Step 5
    2
    Get a sense of the wind direction, and maneuver the board so that the sail is downwind of the board.[2]
  3. Image titled Learn Basic Windsurfing Step 6
    3
    Swim or walk to the upwind side and clamber onto the board - elegance is not required! Stay on your knees and grab a hold of the uphaul, without pulling up the sail yet.
  4. Image titled Learn Basic Windsurfing Step 7
    4
    Raise to your feet at a slow pace. Using a beginners board should mean you are pretty stable - rock back and forth on your feet to get a feel for it.
  5. Image titled Learn Basic Windsurfing Step 8
    5
    Bend your knees slightly and pull the sail up from the water with the uphaul, hand over hand like hauling in a rope. Try to keep your back and body somewhat upright. If you feel your lower back starting to ache, you are bending over too much.
  6. Image titled Learn Basic Windsurfing Step 9
    6
    Take hold of the mast with both hands and let it swing. This is called the "safety" or "control" position: total control with next to no power.
  7. Image titled Learn Basic Windsurfing Step 10
    7
    Practice steering(called Center of Effort Steering) in the "safety" position. With the mast straight up tilt the mast to your left. Your body should transfer this imbalance(the center of effort of the sail is not balanced with the center of lateral resistance of the board) to the board and make the board turn(or spin) clockwise. Tilt the mast to the right and the board will turn(or spin) counterclockwise(anticlockwise). The stronger the wind and the further you tilt the faster the board will turn(or spin). In a stiff breeze you may be sailing very slowly at this point. Another steering description is as you tilt the mast to the stern the board will head up in to the wind. This is also described in the turning section of this doc. Tilting the mast to the front makes the board bear off from the wind.[3]
  8. Image titled Learn Basic Windsurfing Step 11
    8
    Start moving. Look and see which side the bow of the board is in relation to you, and place your lower hand on the boom so the mast is leading the sail towards the bow(front). When you feel ready, transfer the other hand to the boom. Don't let the sail pull you down - the mast should be perpendicular to the board, so lean back and keep the arms straight. This is called the Number 7, and that should indicate the posture to you!
  9. Image titled Learn Basic Windsurfing Step 12
    9
    Pull with the stern wards hand (the back hand) to accelerate - let it out to slow down. Keep your feet behind the mast foot, with the toes of the front foot facing forwards.
  10. Image titled Learn Basic Windsurfing Step 13
    10
    Relax! If you need to stop, return to the safety position, or drop the boom if it is safe to do so. Make sure it goes in front of you, and bear in mind you will get very tired if you have to keep on picking it up!
    11. Advertisement
Part 3
Part 3 of 3:

Turning

  1. Image titled Learn Basic Windsurfing Step 14
    1
    Tilt the mast, from the safety position, towards the stern to turn the nose of the board upwind (behind you) or towards the bow to turn downwind (in front of you).[4]
  2. Image titled Learn Basic Windsurfing Step 15
    2
    Step around the mast, as the nose comes around, to get to the other side. Now you can sail away! This principle works whilst sailing too - tilt the mast forwards and back using the boom to adjust your course![5]
  3. Image titled Learn Basic Windsurfing Step 16
    3
    Enjoy yourself!
    4. Advertisement

Community Q&A

  • Question
    How can I get started in the water?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    Stand on the board and let the wind take you away. Just be careful not to slip off.
  • Question
    How do I do tricks after I get used to it?
    Alexander McCormick
    Alexander McCormick
    Community Answer
    You've got the choice of light wind freestyle, moderate wind or planing tricks (skimming the surface), the latter two are usually more advanced. A good place to start would be improving your turns from static turns to tacks and jibe - Get Windsurfing and Sam Ross are two great YouTube channels to learn from watching this. Once you're confident with tacking and jibing, either a heli tack or rig 360s are great introductions to freestyle; again Get Windsurfing and Sam Ross have videos on these too. YouTube tutorials can be fab for learning new sports but getting videos of yourself and comparing to these tutorials will be even more useful. See if you have any one that is keen to learn with you so you can video each other.
Advertisement

Warnings

Advertisement

You Might Also Like

Surf a Wave
How to
Surf a Wave
Paddle a Canoe
How to
Paddle a Canoe
How to
Surf
Boogie Board
How to
Boogie Board
How to
Bodyboard
Stand Up on a Surfboard
How to
Stand Up on a Surfboard
Skimboard
How to
Skimboard
Kite Surf
How to
Kite Surf
Wax a Surfboard
How to
Wax a Surfboard
Avoid Sharks While Surfing
How to
Avoid Sharks While Surfing
Make a Surfboard
How to
Make a Surfboard
Repair a Cracked Surfboard
How to
Repair a Cracked Surfboard
Look Like a Surfer Girl
How to
Look Like a Surfer Girl
Make Surf Wax
How to
Make Surf Wax
Advertisement

References

  1. ↑ http://howtowindsurf101.com/how-to-windsurf/
  2. ↑ http://howtowindsurf101.com/physics-of-windsurfing/
  3. ↑ https://uswindsurfing.org/introduction-course-12/
  4. ↑ http://howtowindsurf101.com/how-to-turn/
  5. ↑ http://howtowindsurf101.com/how-to-turn/
  6. Videos provided by GetWindsurfing windsurfing coaching

About This Article

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 25 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 197,264 times.
79 votes - 88%
Co-authors: 25
Updated: May 23, 2021
Views: 197,264
Categories: Surfing
Advertisement