For anyone looking to get into the sport of windsurfing, check out an earlier post ‘Windsurfing Lessons – 5 Steps To Learn How To Windsurf’

Our Full Beginners Windsurfing Course covers everything you need to know to then be safe enough out there on the water hiring some equipment from us, practicing what you have been taught.

On the 1st 3 hour lesson you learn about the windsurfing equipment, getting into a windsurfing start position, a basic static 180 degree turn, the sailing position & a little bit of steering. This is enough to get you up & windsurfing along with a turn to get you back home again!

The 2nd 3 hour lesson we teach you how to prevent sideways drift by looking more at steering, sailing towards the wind & doing a faster turn called a tack then move on the cover sailing away from the wind & doing a turn called a gybe.


You also learn a self rescue technique to get you safely home should the wind disappear!

The aim of our full beginners windsurfing course is to give you the knowledge to, in theory be dropped at any ‘Point A’ in Poole Harbour, told to get to any ‘Point B’ & through a combination of steering, tacks, gybes, upwind & downwind sailing, be able to make your way to your target.

To help boost your learning curve & get you going with windsurfing, our Full Beginners Windsurfing Course is included as one of our Special Windsurfing Offers – Save £11 by booking both halves of the course together.

Come and join in the fun of learning to windsurf at the Poole Windsurfing School!

Valid for purchases of any group Windsurfing Lessons, book more than 5 people at our normal competition beating prices & one person goes on the course for free! This massive saving can be spread out amongst the group or used to let the organiser of group go for free.

Organise a group windsurfing lesson, give everyone something to look forward to for the summer & get to go windsurfing for free! Quote 5PLUS (Valid for normal & Gift Voucher purchases)

Why not bring everyone along

Purchase In : Anytime

Valid For : May – Oct 2010

Cost : More Than 5 Paying students = 1 Student FREE

How to make the big day a great success?

Windsurfing is much more accessible & achievable than you may think. You can create a hen party activity or stag do event that will give everyone a day to remember. Take a quick 2 hour taster session or a full windsurfing course to give you all renewed energy for the evening ahead, with plenty to talk about.

Part of the reason for this post is that Poole Windsurfing are giving away one free place on any hen party or stag do windsurfing course that is booked for more than 5 people!

Have a look on the following page: Stag Do & Hen Party Windsurfing

People don’t realise just how easy it is to go on such a windsurfing day out at Poole Harbour even if you are planning stag do activities or looking for hen party ideas in London. It’s only 1 hour 20 minutes from south London yet will feel like a mini holiday. Perfect for a really fresh twist on stag do’s or hen parties whether you are based in London, the south coast or even further afield.

Break free from the crowd and learn to windsurf for your hen party or stag do!

Where to buy your Windsurfing Equipment from?
Basically there are 3 different routes to explore when it comes to scoping out those windsurfing equipment bargains:

Shiny New Windsurfing Equipment

1. Brand New Windsurfing Equipment, Retail Shop discount ‘package deals’ – as with any kind of purchase, buying in bulk from one supplier gives you the customer one great advantage, Buying Power. Windsurfing retail shops are always open to giving discounts to those who are buying a complete windsurf package, 10% off the total price, harness lines or even a boom thrown in for free, there is always something that can be negotiated when bulk buying.


Pro’s: Knowledgeable staff (hopefully!), may have a try before you buy option, possibility of returning faulty kit, buying brand new – everything fits together & just works!

Con’s: Brand new windsurfing equipment loosing its initial retail value quickly, outgrowing your brand new kit, over-priced compared to buying ‘nearly new’ equipment, being given the wrong advice/sold what needs to be sold (hopefully not, if you have gone with a reputable shop)

2. Nearly New Windsurfing Kit – this is where you can really strike gold when it comes to getting yourself a bargain in the world of windsurfing. The great thing about this way of buying is that you can read up on all the windsurfing reviews, find exactly what brand, model, size, year of board you want, then use the following techniques to hunt down a bargain.

There are lots of online & offline places to look for your chosen windsurfing equipment wish list, the best of which are probably, using your local ‘free ad’ type newspaper (such as the Ad Trader paper for the Bournemouth, Poole, Dorset area) where you can track down some really great genuine bargains that people just want to get rid of to make space in their garage! More recently, the best success I have had when searching for ‘nearly new’ windsurfing equipment has been On-Line, via the Boards Magazine Classifieds section. This is a great addition to their site that even lets you make a ‘wish list’ of all the kit you are after & will even send you an email notification just as soon as someone lists that exact piece of kit for sale so you are first in line for a bargain!

Pro’s: Newly new windsurfing equipment at way below retail prices, can spread your search & get instant updates as & when your desired kit is listed for sale.

Con’s: Need to make your own research as to what type of kit is suitable for you, travel time to go pickup your bargain purchases, must know what to look for when viewing potential kit, may have long waiting time until your desired windsurf board, sail, etc becomes available for sale.

3. Second Hand Windsurfing Equipment – this method of buying kit really is hit or miss! You could land the windsurfing bargain of the century or end up with a pile of useless retro windsurfing junk, see my previous post about The Secrets to Choosing Beginners Windsurfing Equipment for a background into what exactly you should be looking for & what you should avoid like the plague. There is a never ending source for second hand windsurfing equipment. Retail shops always have a few racks of second hand windsurf boards, windsurfing sails, mast & booms. Your local ‘Free Ads’ paper, Ebay & the more specialist online specialist classifieds sites such as the one on the Boards website mentioned earlier in this post and finally personal contacts – everyone knows someone, who knows someone, who is trying to sell windsurfing equipment!

Pro’s: Potential for windsurfing bargain of the century!

Con’s: A lot of background research to find your bargains, more than ever you must know what to look for when viewing potential kit, may have long waiting time until your desired windsurf board, sail, etc becomes available for sale.

Choosing the Right Windsurf Board

What to look for when viewing windsurfing equipment?
If buying new equipment, things should be pretty straight forward because you will be getting helped out by your local windsurf retail shop. Just check that everything is going to fit together, as ‘plug & play’ as possible. I mean, check the boom will fit the sails you have/hope to have, all rope pulley systems are easy to operate, the board to sail connection is the right fit, the boom extension uses an easily adjustable system, the mast will fit the sail properly & you have the correct mast extension if necessary.

For second hand windsurfing equipment you really need to know a few little secrets to help check you end up with some quality kit & not a water logged plank! For the boards, check there are no soft spots on the deck, by pressing all over with your thumbs. If you find the outer skin of the board can be easily pressed inwards this is a good indication that water has seeped into the foam core at some point, making it contract & leaving a gap between it and the outer skin. This means 2 things, the board has had a knock at some point & it will now be irreversibly water logged & heavy.

Second hand windsurf sails should not have any major rips or repairs in the luff tube (where the mast is inserted), same goes for the mono-film panels which should also not be too opaque/milky in colour – a sign that they have seen too much sun & will be brittle/easily damaged.

Booms should still be easy to adjust & have good grip left. Check the UJ (Universal Joint) does not have any splits in the rubber and that the pulley system on mast extensions are still running smoothly.

Ok, so you now know the options available for buying your windsurfing equipment, where to look to sniff out the real bargain buys & what to check for before you hand over your cash! All the info in this post is great but what happens if the unthinkable happens…you damage your lovely new windsurfing kit!

In a future post I will run through how to fix holes in your board, rips in your sail and anything else that you can damage, so check back to the Top Windsurfing Tips & News blog to learn the essential DIY windsurfing repairs that you will undoubtedly need at some point.

There is no better way to get in shape whilst working on your tan:

Special Windsurfing Offers for a new sport!

Like most sports windsurfing is best learnt from someone who really knows how to break down the learning stages & provide you with the key learning blocks. Your progression is just so much quicker when you have windsurfing lessons to get you through the basics & onto improver & then advanced windsurfing skills.

Learn to windsurf with a friend & split the saving between you or give 2 Christmas presents for the price of 1, either way this really is a great windsurf offer that should not be missed!

The details of this windsurf offer can be found at our Special Offers page

Happy Christmas from Poole Windsurfing & hope to see you all on the water next season!

• 2 for 1 beginners windsurfing lessons
• Introductory price on the all new virtual windsurf coaching
• Discounted windsurf hire cards.

These sort of deals are seriously good value & as such will only be available leading up to Christmas.

Grab a great deal by going to: Special Windsurfing Offers

Happy present shopping & have a great Chrsitmas – from us at Poole Windsurfing!