A beginner's guide to windsurfing

Windsurfing is a form of sailing. You stand on a board, holding a sail (which is attached to the board) and are powered across the water by the wind. You steer by adjusting the position of the sail and moving your feet. 

If you have an understanding of wind direction and an OK sense of balance, you’re half way there. If you don’t, don’t worry. Getting your head around the basics may talk a little longer, but with good tuition from our team of instructors and big stable beginner boards you’ll soon be out on the water windsurfing back and forth across the bay. Like most sports the more you practise the better you will become, the progression curve is quite steep and you can pick it up very quickly. It can be frustrating at times, but when you crack it, there’s no other feeling in the world. 

If you thought windsurfing was a difficult sport to learn, you’re in for a pleasant surprise.

Neilson offers free tuition from qualified instructors who are passionate about teaching their sport. You’ll get more from an hour with one of our instructors than trying to learn by yourself or from a friend or partner. You’ll also be learning in a group, with lots of encouragement and fun guaranteed.

You will start on a bigger board with a small sail, before gradually moving onto a smaller board as your skill levels increase. The sail size tends to depend on the conditions. In all Neilson beachclubs there’s a great selection of kit, tuition for all levels and you could even pick up some Royal Yachting Association (RYA) qualifications.

With both sports, you stand on a board and use the wind to power you across the water. However, kitesurfing and windsurfing are quite different sports. Windsurfing is much easier to learn, whilst kitesurfing takes more time and requires more instruction to get to the same stage. Rather than a sail attached to your board kitesurfing uses a large, crescent-shaped kite. Another watersport which is sometimes confused with windsurfing is surfing. In reality they are quite different, surfboards don’t have a sail and use wave power rather than wind power.

All you need to wear windsurfing in the sunny climes of Sardinia, Croatia and Greece is your board shorts, rash vest and sun cream; we’ll take care of the rest. If you feel the cold you might want to bring a shortie wetsuit, for those inevitable times when you fall in, but in our experience a quick dip is usually welcome relief from the warm sunshine and you’ll be fine without. Buoyancy aids are supplied at all beachclubs in a range of sizes and all boards and sails are also provided for you.

As a beginner, you’re likely to fall in quite a bit. Balancing on the board and attempting to pull up the sail and position yourself whilst understanding wind direction can prove a little tricky at first. If it doesn’t go quite to plan, you’ll be heading for a quick dip! 

Falling in means having to climb back on the board and pick up the sail to try again. This can be tiring, but your balance and wind knowledge will be improving all the time and you’ll soon be spending less time in the water and more time on the board.

Don’t worry about falling in, it’s all part of the learning curve and at our beachclubs the water is warm, you’ll be wearing a buoyancy aid and you will be taught how to fall safely and get yourself back on the board. Remember, if you don’t fall in you’re probably not trying hard enough, or you have amazing balance and it’s not that windy!

If you’re keen to get a head start, understanding basic wind direction is an important skill to learn and will point you in the right direction, quite literally! 

Of course, if you’re learning to windsurf at a Neilson beachclub, one of the first things the instructors will teach you is wind direction and the points of sail - basically the directions in which you can windsurf and what they are called. Once you get the hang of windsurfing, you’ll see that you can windsurf in almost any direction, except an area about 45 degrees either side of the wind direction, called the ‘No Go Zone’. Difficult to understand from a book but easy to grasp when an instructor shows you how.

First things first, you need to work out where the wind is coming from; the flags on the beach will give you a good indication of this. Once you know the wind direction, you’ll know which way to go. You should always have your back to the wind and most windsurfers sail back and forth at 90 degrees to the wind, this is called sailing across the wind.

Learning a new sport, you will hear quite a few unfamiliar words, it can sometimes feel like you are learning a new language. Get an edge on your fellow windsurfers and read up ahead of the game, you’ll soon be talking like a windsurfer even if you’re not sure what it all means - yet!

Deck – the top surface of the board.
Nose – the front of the board.
Tail – the back of the board.
Rail – the edge of the board.
Mast – This is the upright post which the sail is attached to, it supports the front edge of the sail.
Boom – is the bar attached to the sail. It’s basically the part of the rig that you hold onto, you could say it’s the handlebars.
Rig – this refers to the windsurf set up i.e. the sail, mast and boom.
Daggerboard – is the large retractable fin in the middle of the board. It provides the board with greater stability and sideways resistance.
Fin – found on the bottom of the board, they provide stability and keep the board going in a straight line.
Uphaul – a rope that allows you to pull the sail out of the water.
Harness – a piece of kit which goes around your waist and is then attached to the rig.
Battens – flexible rods that provide strength and shape to the sail.
Offshore – when the wind is blowing directly off the land or shore.
Onshore – when the wind is blowing onto the land or shore.
Gybe – a manoeuvre that turns the nose of the board away from the wind.
Tack – turning the board with the nose through the wind.
Butterfly rescue – when you lay the sail flat on the board and paddle the board and sail back to shore.
 

There’s so much to take on board when you’re learning a new watersport that it’s only natural to make a few mistakes here and there. Below are a few common mistakes beginner windsurfers tend to make, try to avoid these and you’re windsurfing will vastly improve. 

Gear gazing – one of the big rules of windsurfing is that where you look is where you’ll go, if you’re looking down at your feet or the water, likelihood is that the rest of you will follow soon enough.
Don’t stick you’re bum out – not only do you look funny, research by Chichester University found that lower back strain is one of the most common windsurfing injuries. Getting your stance right will not only improve your windsurfing and make you look good, but it will also help to prevent injury which means you can windsurf even more.
Loving your kit a bit too much – pulling the rig (sail) too close to your body will affect the way it catches the wind and will cause you to over balance, ultimately resulting in a big splash. Remember to always keep your front arm extended to help keep the rig away from your body.
Not keeping weight over the centreline - the centreline is the most stable part of the board. If you stand too far forwards or backwards, or too close to the rails (the edge) you’ll tip the board and again…. splash!
 
Getting to grips with the kit on land can be as challenging as on the water. Carrying the rig (sail) into the wind can end up with a sail to the face if a gust comes, fun for anyone watching but not so much for you.

You can windsurf at all our beachclubs, winds tend to be light in the mornings so conditions are great for learning. If you’re looking for the best beachclub to get your windsurfing fix we would recommend you check out Baia dei Mori Beachclub in Sardinia, Cosmos Beachclub or Aeolian Village Beachclub both of which are in Greece.

Find out more about our windsurfing holidays.