The next series of post is will present the different classes of boards from the leasing windsurfing equipment manufacturers.

FreeRide Wide Boards

This class of board is probably the most popular one, as it provides boards for the widest active level of windsurfer - intermediates. These boards can be found in advanced sailor fleets as it can increase the number of windsurfing days, because on light-wind days you can easily rig the board with a large sail for some freeriding.

• Starboard Futura- Starboard replace its legendary freeride board, the Carve,with this new model. A brave move on Starboard’s side as the Carve was an easy winner for them against other popular boards in this class.
• JP Excite Ride - The best board in this class, the Excite Ride offers a wide range of board volumes (100-160) and width (63-79CM). If you have the money to afford a JP, you should go for it!
• F2 Stoke - Ranging from 95-145 liters,a solid board that comes with two version - one for the smaller 95-125 with reduced contact with the water, allowing easier planning, and the 135-145L boards, providing more stability for beginners and early intermediates.

Next post will present freeride boards from other windsurfing equipment manufacturers - Naish, Fanatic, Mistral and more!

I have been windsurfing for several years now, working on my stance, gybes, waterstarts. I have been able to improve quite a bit. But there is one thing I feel like I still have a long way to go - proper rigging.

The following scene might be familiar: a perfect day for windsurfing - wind is not to strong, water not too choppy, it’s not cold yet, it’s a weekend. You race down to the beach, and what you want to do,more than everything else, is get into the water and start working on your waterstart or gybe. You spend as little time as possible rigging.

You get into the water, and five minutes into your session, your forearms start hurting, you feel overpowered,you keep crashing.. There is a good chance all these things happen because you did not rig properly.

If you think about it, one of the things that seperats advanced sailors from intermediates from beginners is proper rigging. Proper rigging will do for you the most important thing - give you more time in the water.

W e must start at the beginning, so we will just start with the simple technique of rigging.

Before we go into all the details, watch this short clip. In our next post, we will explain in details how to implement the riggingtechnique from the clip.

In our beginner equipment series we discuss the different equipment pieces you have to buy when first out sailing with your own gear. We talked about boards and sails (see posts below) and this post will deal with your first boom and mast.

We’ll start with the mast. You would usually want to get a 4.30 or 4.60 mast, with around 30% carbon. Some places will provide you with a 1 year warranty for a new mast and will replace it if it broke. There is a good chance you’ll break a mast (I broke my mast because I did not make sure the two mast parts were inserted all the way) so paying the extra bucks buying a new mast might pay off.

You could also buy a used mast but you need to make sure it’s in good shape. Since masts are usually mostly aluminum, you need to take a look at the mast to see that it is not fractured, especially near the part that plugs the two mast pieces together.

There are of course fancier masts - with a higher carbon percentage, who are stronger and lighter than the mast you will probably start with, and there are skinny masts, which are, well, skinny.. their diameter is much smaller than regular masts, they way much less and are much stronger. They are suited for wave riding and make freestyling much easier.

The boom is similar to the mast in regard to the things you need to decide prior to buying - it is also made mostly from aluminum and has some carbon fiber to make it lighter and stronger.Thee is also a good chance you will break a mast, especially if you windsurf in strong winds. If you can get a 1 year warranty from your local

As everything else in windsurfing, the best source of information are your fellow sailors,so do not hesitate to ask them to help you decide if a boom is in a good condition or if the price your dealer is asking for a sail is fair.

In a previous post,we had a detailed discussion regarding the question of your first major purchase as a windsurfing beginner - your board. The reason we focused on the board was that not only it’s the most expansive piece of equipment you will buy but also the one that makes the difference from beginner to intermediate to advanced.

I would like to focus now on other windsurfing equipment you will have to buy. The difference between this equipment and a windsurfing board is that sails,booms,masts and other accessories can last you a life time. If you buy a good all around sail it can serve you well for many years (if you take good care of it). As for a board - at a certain point in time you will feel like you need to move ahead to a a smaller,shorter,lighter board.

Probably the second most important piece of windsurfing equipment you will buy is a windsurfing sail.At least one,but you would probably want to get more than just one sail. For most people, a 5-5.5 for windier days and a 6-6.5 for light wind days should be enough. The advantage of buying new sails is that they will probably more than one board. Make sure you take good care of them - wash your sail with fresh water to extend it’s life. Buying a used sail is also possible,just make sure there are no apparent holes or cuts in the sail. Large patches, usually found at the bottom of the sail, mean the sail has gone though some rough times, I would think twice before buying that sail.

Next post will discuss two other pieces of equipment - the boom and the mast.

You’ve finally made the decision:I want to start windsurfing! Now what? How do I learn to windsurf? How long will it take me to be able to say “I can windsurf?”.

The top 5 windsurfing tips for beginners:

1.Take a lesson - although it might be tempting to use your friends’ wide board and just spend an hour with him on water, what you should do is find a good windsurfing school - it can either be somewhere you can drive or a place you plan to take your next vacation to. The basics,like any other sports, are so important that it will worth the extra money you’ll spend.

2.Start on a wide board - whether you decide to take a windsurfing course or with a friends’ help,try to start with the widest board with the most volume you can find. The board should be at least 80CM wide and have at least 160L of volume. It will make learning windsurfing faster and more fun.

3.Take your time - learning to windsurf takes time. The progress really depends on how many hours you spend on the water learning the basics - uphauling, proper stance, understanding the wind and your board. You will need at least 10X2 hours sessions to be able to control the rig. However, you will have lots of fun from the first moment your step on the board!

4.Surf only in light winds and flat water - it’s really tempting to go out whenever the wind is blowing but days with strong,gusty wind or lots of chops will cause frustration and might put you in danger. Be patient!.

5.Never windsurf alone!! That is the most important tip I can give you. As a beginner, never windsurf without having someone around.Make sure someone knows you went out - get to know the local shop owner and some of the spot veterans.

Just remember that windsurfing is all about having fun on the water. You’ll have some unforgettable moments on the water, but you have to play it safe!

Feel free to add your own tips for beginner windsurfers!

In part 1 we introduced the subject of buying your first windsurfing board. Part 2 discussed the the different parameters you need to consider when buying a board.

Now for some recommendations:

As a general rule of thumb,you want a board with at least 150L of volume. And it has to be wide,I would say 60-70CM, at least. There are some great boards out there that will last the average recreational windsurfer at least 2-3 years.

Some boards in that range:

• Bic techno - was (and still is) my first board. Long (283L), Large (152L) and wide (69CM). It’s heavy,though.. The popularity of the Bic Techno comes from it’s price/performance ratio - it’s the cheapest board we will find.
• Starboard Go - it’s much wider and shorter than the Go but I got some good recommendations from sailors who used it. Will last you a long time, can carry large sails. It just looked to wide to me, I was afraid of its performance (or lack of) in stronger wind.Price is in the mid range
• JP X-Cite ride - if you can spear the money and lucky enough to have more than 30 windy days a year,I would go for this board. Was my dream board, but couldn’t afford it because I was a student when I bought the Techno. This board got great reviews. You could go for the smaller ones : 120-130L will guarantee you many great moments on the water.

Basically, all manufacturers have at least one board designed specially for the beginner-intermediate sailors so check their websites,ask around or post comments here, we will be happy to help you with your decision.

One last question - buy new or used board? It’s a tough question. I bought a brand new Bic Techno and I love it. Some would prefer to by a used wide board, ride it for a year or so and then buy a smaller, new board. Don’t forget that if you buy a new one and sell it after a couple of years, most shops will offer you a trade-in for your old board.

That was the last post of this beginner series.

Feel free to leave your comments.

In our last post, we talked about some of the dilemmas facing a windsurfer who has just finished a course and maybe some rentals and is now deciding about his first real commitment to windsurfing - buying windsurfing equipment.

The parameters that you,as an “advanced beginner” sailor has to take:

1.Budget - like everything else in life,this will be the most important parameter in your decision. The question is not necessarily how much money you HAVE but (most of the times) how much money am I going to put into windsurfing. And you will learn that it is not a cheap hobbie, although some are more expansive, obviously..

2.Time in water - this is a tough one.I believe most windsurfers are optimistic by nature, but when you make big decisions like this one, you must try to be realistic and try to estimate how many days you WILL BE surfing, and that is not the same as how many days the conditions are optimal for my level, which is not the same as how many windy days you have in your local spot per year.

How do you estimate your Time on water? The easiest way, and probably the best thing you could do as a noob, is ask your masters. Every spot has its veterans. They know everything there is to know about the wind,waves, water temperature, where to hide your keys and where to go to drink hot coffee and a sandwich after a long day of windsurfing. You will also find very useful surfers who have a little more experience than yours. They have been where you have been not long ago and they might even sell you their own beginner board.

3.Your level - again, be honest with your self.If you still have problems uphauling when a tiny chop comes,you need a bigger board.Some people are naturally more gifted or have worked on their balance, strength or coordination( I guess someone with background as a gymnast would do better that average in the beginning..) and they might start with a smaller board.

One thing to always remember - todays modern beginner windsurfing equipment is very easy to use! You can buy a board that will give you many days of great pleasure.

The next part of this post will get down to business - we will talk about what to look for in a beginner board and talk about some of the best ones out there.

One thing all windsurfers have in common is the decision they had to make when deciding to buy their first board - what board should I buy?You are probably fresh out of a windsurfing course,you might have even taken 5-10 hours of rented windsurfing equipment.You manage to hold on to the rig for just enough time to realize you might have gone to far from the coast,so you just drop the rig and turn it around while your in the water.But you decided it’s time to own your own windsurfing equipment.

The sail is easy-you would probably,depending on where you’re surfing,go for a 5.0 or 5.5 sail,probably used one,maybe with2-3 years in the water.After all,who wants to throw a brand-new NeilPryde,Ezzy or any other new sail,fresh out of it’s bag?..Some do..If you can afford it,go for it!

The bigger question is what board do I buy?New one that will last for a few years or and older,cheaper one that I will replace within a year?

And what board do I buy?All manufacturers have boards for beginners, aggressive beginners,heavy beginners, beginners-intermediates, boards for frustrated intermediates. Some boards are wide,some are very wide. Some are wide,long and heavy.

There are several parameters you need to consider when buying your first windsurfing boards.

On the next part, we will discuss these parameters and we will recommend some really good boards.

The purpose of this first post is to explain the motivation behind starting windsurfingmaps.com.

I am a windsurfer, much like most of the visitors of this site.I find the web a great resource for windsurfing related information - new and used equipment, windsurfing location, gear review, weather forecasts.It’s all our there, easily accessible.

But one thing was missing - most , if not all of the windsurfing related websites were commercial - operated by manufacturers, shop owners, equipments sellers I couldn’t find many websites that were dedicated for windsurfers, had important information which I can easiliy access.

Forums are a great way to share information and I often do visit them.Many windsurfers are very happy to share their knowledge, which encourages higher adoption of windsurfing.Some windsurfers don’t like to share, I can never understand why.

What we are trying to do is to build a website that will be both valuable and fun to windsurfers.As for the valuable part, we want to map the entire world of windsurfing - locations, shops,schools,rental places.We want to provide the fastest and most reliable answer to the question “Where can I find a JP or F2 board to buy in Dallas,TX , near Sylt, Germany or around London,UK” or to a question like “I will vist Thailand next month, where can I rent equipment and where are the best places to windsurf in Thailand?”.

How do we plan to do it?First,we hope you, our visitor,will help us!If you have any equipment you want to buy or sell,you are a shop owner looking for a completely free way to publish the equipment and services you have to offer, just visit our “add equipment” page at:http://www.windsurfingmaps.com/equipmentadd.html.We are also constantly updating our information maps with information so keep coming back for more information.

We also believe our site should be fun.For that,you can visit our windsurfing video clips page at: http://www.windsurfingmaps.com/video.html.You can see there some of the craziest windsurfing video clips.Don’t miss it!

We encourage you to contact us,add remarks and most of all to add your equipment when you look to buy or sell.Most of us,most of the time,are either selling old sails or board and buying new gear.Adding yours onto the map will take you less than a minute (no registration required).

See you on our map,

Windsurfingmaps.com webmaster