Author Archive

• 2011 Windsurfing Already?
  The new 2011 line up of windsurfing equipment is starting to get some press already…. http://fb.me/EZm8I0SP #
• The forecast is showing some good breeze for intermediate to advanced windsurfers here at Poole harbour tomorrow…. http://fb.me/EWGRtcI7 #
• The
  forecast is showing some good breeze for intermediate to advanced
  windsurfers here at Poole harbour tomorrow…. http://fb.me/DNvMOOYL #
• The forecast is showing some good breeze for intermediate to advanced windsurfers here at Poole harbour tomorrow…. http://fb.me/ynY4P2J2 #
• The forecast is showing some good breeze for intermediate to advanced windsurfers here at Poole harbour…. http://fb.me/F4nyBEkD #

Just in at the Poole Windsurfing School & ready for high season is a full range of Men’s Billabong Foil Wetsuits. Everyone really appreciates a high quality wetsuit & these are top class Billabong wetsuits – super flexy, durable & stylish. Certainly not the typical wetsuit you get when going to a windsurfing school for lessons or rental!

These new Billabong Foil wetsuits join the line up of stylish ladies Billabong Synergy wetsuits, dependable Helly Hansen buoyancy aids keeping you safe & our range of wetsuit shoes to protect your feet.

We like to make sure that everything we provide is top quality (see our Windsurfing Equipment Page) yet we keep very affordable prices for windsurfing lessons & windsurf hire.

• Action from the recent PWA Lanzarote event! http://fb.me/zjXRH3sm #
• Results from the 2010 Costa Teguise Lanzarote: http://fb.me/CS0ahnOu #
• PWA event is going on in Lanza…
  COSTA TEGUISE LANZAROTE, Jun 30 – Jul 03
  €45.000 up for grabs – nice! #

North are known for always coming up with the latest developments in windsurfing components. There was the ratchet Power XT mast extensions, designed to take all the effort out of rigging your sails (and make your wallet nice and light!).

Then came the iFront boom technology that markets as giving unique trimming & tuning capabilities. Including such features as ‘tool-less RDM adaptor’, ‘Auto-Close’ & ‘Rope Storage’. As the North website says “The brand-new iFRONT head is the first to offer an adjustment and tuning option that changes the overall characteristics of the boom, allowing for ideal adjustment to all conditions. This is made possible by the individually adjustable FLEX.CONTROLLER in three levels.”

This technology seems well suited to racing, using bigger sails (7m2 plus) where you want to crank up the setting to maximum stiffness!

Check the tech:
North Windsurf Boom Technology

Now, the latest to come out of the North Windsurfing technology farm is the Shox XTR. A Power XT that’s been taken to a whole new level of tech! A Power XT with an integrated high-end shock absorber. There is even an adjustable travel control level to set the shock absorber for different conditions.

According to North Windsurfing website…
“In the waves, firstly the SHOX.XTR dampens landings and delivers a new level of board control when going down-the-line.”

“Supports the pop in Freestyling by the rebound. In addition the damping improves reception on landings.

Check the tech:
North Windsurf Boom Technology
More North Windsurf Boom Technology

Another good idea but one that will definitely need to be tested out & like all the good technology it doesn’t come cheap!

• Not only does the wind forecast look good for Sunday but check out all of next week – could be time to suddenly be… http://fb.me/z0NmJLsE #
• Windsurfing Summer Time Special Offer – 1 Goes FREE for group lessons of more than 5 people! http://fb.me/DDm6ficQ #
• Looks like we could finally have some stronger wind coming towards the end of this week / next week. Good for… http://fb.me/DFz0mMDN #
• I favorited a YouTube video — The Poole Windsurfing School – A Guided Tour – Windsurfi… http://youtu.be/qAqV8qwynN0?a #
• I liked a YouTube video — The Poole Windsurfing School – A Guided Tour – Windsurfing L… http://youtu.be/qAqV8qwynN0?a #
• I uploaded a YouTube video — The Poole Windsurfing School http://youtu.be/80mhW3hVrWI?a #

The all new video guided tour of the Poole Windsurfing school here at Poole Harbour! We have made a quick video showing you everything you need to know about the Poole Windsurfing school….

A little bit about our teaching background, a quick round up of all the latest windsurf equipment we use followed by some great action from students taking lessons out on the water!

As one of our regular windsurfing students kindly said:

Learning to Windsurf with Poole Windsurfing is a pleasure. The location is hard to beat and the instruction and equipment is first class

- Jon Marshall

Come and join in the windsurfing fun with us at Poole Windsurfing!

Essential wind & weather forecast websites for Poole Harbour. An up to date list of all the best websites for checking out everything from wind strength & wind direction to knowing the % could cover & checking out all the Poole Harbour windsurfing action with a live feed!

If you know where to look then there is a whole world of information available for checking out the weather forecast for Poole Harbour. Wind forecasts specifically for Poole Harbour that include as much or as little data as you require.

Top 3 Wind & Weather Forecasts For Poole Harbour

1. WindGuru – One of the original global wind & weather forecast wesbites and still one of the best for a local wind forecast here at Poole Harbour. The link will take you directly to the Poole Harbour wind & weather forecast page (although you can use WindGuru for practically any well know windsurfing location worldwide).

You get more than the usual 5 day weather forecast for Poole, WindGuru gives you upto an 8 day wind forecast that includes such data as wind strength, wind direction, temperature, cloud cover & rainfall. A nice feature is the special WindGuru ’star rating’ for when you just want a quick indicator of when it’s next going to be windy!

When you look at the wind forecast page you will notice that if you scroll down there are in fact 3 different weather forecasts for Poole Harbour. This is something to do with forecast ‘resolution’, each of the 3 forecasts have a particular level of geographical coverage or ‘resolution’. Technical stuff but basically the 1st forecast at the top of the page will give a more averaged prediction and from experience is the one that gives the most accurate of wind/weather forecasts for Poole Harbour.

2. Windfinder – Maybe a more basic wind & weather forecast website than WindGuru & not dedicated to only Poole Harbour but it still has an 8 day weather forecast. Windfinder includes all the essential data: wind direction, wind speed, cloud cover & temperature.

The wind speed is displayed in an easy to read visual bar chart system & a nice extra is a simple to read wave height & wave period forecast for the Bournemouth / Poole Harbour locations.


3. XC Weather – Provides the basic wind & weather data in a simple to read 6 day weather forecast for Poole.

A really nice feature is actually back on the main XC Weather webpage. You can roll your pointer over the map of the UK to get instant wind & weather forecast information displayed to you. Great for tracking where the weather is coming from & going to when trying to plan your day of windsurfing. This feature also includes some useful additional ‘offshore’ marker locations such as the Solent.

You can also zoom in using the ‘Forecast Maps’ feature to get the same roll over wind forecast but at much more detailed location points – very nice!

XC Weather even has a page where you can play a wind animation which you can use to track what has happened & help predict the future – now there’s a good skill, predicting the future!

Top 2 Live Wind & Weather Feeds For Poole Harbour

1. Poole Harbour Weather – Located at a top secret (well maybe not to us) location right here at Poole Harbour, this website has been spitting out a live feed both of weather statistics & a multi angle, user adjustable webcam showing all the windsurfing action in Poole Harbour for some time now!

The live feed is good for double checking that it really is windy before you make a frantic drive down to the harbour. Nothing worse than getting all psyched up for a good windsurfing session only to arrive to no wind!

What I really love about the Poole Harbour Weather site is the live weather statistics, sad I know but you get sooo much information about what is going on right now at Poole Harbour. The best feature has to be the ‘Graph’ button, which brings up a menu from which you can choose wind speed, wind direction, temperature, etc, etc and then look at a graph of the live feed, last hour, last 24 hours & even the last 31 days of activity!

2. In The Elements -The new kid on the ‘Live Weather – Poole Harbour’ scene and doing a very nice job of it too! A no fuss webcam & the bonus of website that also has lots of other useful watersports info, including a place to buy and sell equipment.

They combine a super smooth auto panning webcam of the Poole Harbour windsurfing location with a summary display of the latest from the WindGuru website.

A great instant check on what the wind is doing down here at Poole Harbour!

With so much wind & weather forecast information to look at you just need to remember to make time to get down to Poole Harbour & us at Poole Windsurfing to actually go windsurfing!

Some of our regular windsurfing students have asked about how & where to get personal windsurfing insurance cover.

As a windsurfer you are out there in the elements and things may not always go as planned! Good insurance cover makes sense. Firstly, windsurfing insurance cover to protect the equipment you own, covering against damage or theft. Also, windsurf insurance to protect yourself against any 3rd party claims arising out of any incidents out on the water, including damage to others & their equipment (boards, boats, yachts).

There are a few specialist insurers that deal with this kind of insurance:
1. The Royal Yachting Association – You must be a member of the RYA but then you automatically have 3rd party insurance cover – nice!

Taken from the RYA’s website – “If you nominate windsurfing as one of your boating interests when you join the RYA, you will automatically receive third party liability insurance for up to £2,000,000 covering your windsurfing activities absolutely free!”

They also have a deal going with a company called Bishop Skinner Marine, which has a range of insurance products that are available to RYA members at a discount. They say that “Whatever sort of boating you do, there is something for you!”

2. Bishop Skinner Marine – As stated before these guys are working together with the RYA to provide your insurance needs.

You could ‘top up’ your RYA third party liability insurance with a windsurfing equipment insurance policy from Bishop Skinner to cover accidental damage, loss & theft.

3. Noble Marine Insurance – Seem to provide everything you will need regarding windsurfing insurance, including a good amount of 3rd party liability cover & personal windsurfing equipment cover.

On their insurance quote page you can customise your package to give individual details on all the boards you own, a total value for all windsurfing equipment & choose the level of insurance you require.

4. Viking Insurance – A specialist company that seems to offer very competitive prices for even their comprehensive policies that include equipment damage & 3rd part liability cover.

A great feature of their insurance policies are that you get automatic worldwide windsurf cover for any trip up to 62 days at no extra cost.

Happy & Safe Windsurfing!

• Good wind forecast for beginners/intermediate windsurfers tomorrow + the chance of it getting windier by late… http://bit.ly/bVEixx #
• Someone asked about where to get personal windsurf insurance: http://www.noblemarine.co.uk/windsurfinginsurance.php3 #

June got off to a great start for our windsurfing courses. We had lots of lessons running, group beginners windsurfing courses, windsurf hire & some of our regulars getting back into their windsurfing ready for the summer!

Check Out The Early June Windsurfing Course Action…

The week started with some beginners windsurfing lessons for which the students scored some really nice conditions. Lots of our students were out practicing what they have learnt on our windsurfing courses with some windsurf hire time. Practice makes perfect!

Beginner Hiring at Poole Windsurfing

The weekend was a bit breezier, good for the 2nd half of the full beginners windsurfing courses. Also, great for some of the student who had been on intermediate windsurfing courses and were out practicing faster tacks, beach starts & harness.

Come & join in the fun at Poole Windsurfing and learn to windsurf – a great new summer activity for you!

Remember we have a really good Full Beginners Windsurfing Course Discount where you can get £11 off the normal price when booking your 2 sessions upfront, with us at Poole Windsurfing.