The Complete Guide to Windsurfing

Chapter 1: What Is Windsurfing and Why People Love It

There's a moment that happens on your first successful windsurfing session. It's not the very first time you stand on the board—that's a wobbly, awkward few seconds. And it's not your first time holding the sail, which is mostly about wrestling an unruly piece of plastic. The moment I'm talking about comes a bit later, after you've gotten some basics down. The wind is blowing, your feet are planted, and you pull the sail up. Instead of the board spinning out of control or you falling over with a splash, you feel something click. The wind fills the sail, the board tips forward slightly, and you start to move. Not slowly and painfully, but smoothly and with a surprising burst of speed. The water rushes under the board, the spray kicks up, and for a few seconds, you're not thinking about your feet or the sail or the wind. You're just flying. That moment is what keeps people in this hobby for decades.

But before you get to that moment, it's important to understand what windsurfing actually is on a day-to-day level. It's not like sailing a boat, where you sit down and let the boat do all the work. It's not like surfing, where you wait for a wave and paddle with your arms. Windsurfing is a dynamic mix of the two, where you stand on a surfboard-like platform and hold onto a mast that supports a single sail.