Another perfect sunny day - Poole Windsurfing student getting Poole Harbour all to themselves!

You can also check out some video footage from our windsurfing lessons, to get the inside line on how to do the basic windsurfing moves & to see our teaching location at Poole Harbour.

Many more how to windsurf video clips to be posted on our Poole Windsurfing YouTube Channel over the coming weeks/months so stayed tuned & subscribe so you can follow all the windsurfing video tips.

Follow the Poole Windsurfing Facebook Fan Page for some interesting windsurfing chat & up to date info from the world of windsurfing.

News & Reviews on the Poole Windsurfing Facebook Fan Page

Before May the water temperature is just too cold to enjoy your windsurfing. It really helps to be able to feel your hands & feet when you are trying to balance on a windsurf board. Starting in May will mean you get the most out of your windsurfing lessons or practice time. Even though the air temperature can pick up, the water takes much longer to heat. At the other end of the scale, after a summers worth of warmth the water temperature is usually at its peak, even if the air temperature starts to fall.

During this May to October period is your ideal time to get out there on the water & train your windsurfing skills. At Poole Windsurfing there is a range of windsurfing lessons & windsurf hire options to help get you up and going, whatever level you are at.

For some inspiration have a look at this light wind freestyle video clip of Caesar Finies, the worlds best at this sort of action…

OK, so at this level it seems almost unbelievable but the beauty of light wind freestyle is that everyone can do something! Students who have only been out on the water for a few hours can start learning to take a hand/foot off, spin the sail, go backwards, etc & for the intermediate windsurfers there is an endless supply of tricks to really get your balance & coordination going.

Where we are based at Poole Harbour is a great place to learn & progress with your windsurfing so I hope to see you out on the water soon!

Windsurfing lessons and Progression
As with learning any sport, windsurfing lessons need to be structured in the right way to make it both an enjoyable process & at the same time encourage progression.

As with everything there is a quick way & a slow way to learn to windsurf, a right way & a wrong way to progress with your windsurfing skills…


5 Steps To Learn How To Windsurf
1. Don’t learn from a loved one or friend – Being shown the basics by a loved one or friend never works well. The equipment is usually either too old or too advanced for learning how to windsurf and although they mean well they don’t necessarily know ‘how’ to teach. A good windsurfer is not automatically a good teacher & learning from someone you know often ends up in frustration on both sides!

2. Take Beginners Windsurfing Lessons – This is essential to your learning & enjoyment. Choose your beginners windsurfing lessons wisely as there are many different locations & courses out there. Safe, shallow water is the best place to learn, such as the Poole Harbour location used at the Poole Windsurfing School, which is known for being the No 1 place to learn & progress with windsurfing.

When it comes to choosing the best course type there really are only 2 options worth considering:
a. Full Beginners Windsurfing Course – best run over two separate 3 hour lessons. This will give you all the essentials to be confident enough to then practice on your own for a while.
b. Beginners Windsurfing Taster Session – a single 3 hour lesson. This will cover all the basics needed to get you up & windsurfing. If you enjoy it then just tag on to the second part of a full beginners windsurfing course to learn the full set of skills needed to move on to the next stage in your learning process, which is….

3. Consolidate your skills with windsurfing hire time – well run beginners windsurfing lessons will give you everything you need to know for now, in theory but you must hire windsurfing equipment & spend some time practicing on your own. There is no point paying money for an improver windsurfing course if you have not had at least 10 if not 20 hours out there on the water practicing what you have been shown on the beginners windsurfing course. Any good windsurfing school or windsurf instructor knows this and will actively encourage your self practice time, rather than push you into an improvers windsurfing lesson.

Make sure you hire the latest windsurfing equipment possible. New windsurfing equipment really does make a huge difference to your learning curve, modern board & sail shapes and lightweight components (masts & booms) all help to make your progression in the sport of windsurfing as smooth as possible.

4. Take Intermediate Windsurfing Lessons – OK, so you have practiced the basics but how do you know if you are ready for some more lessons?

An easy way to assess If you are ready for the next level of windsurfing lessons is to ask yourself ‘Can I consistently sail from any given point out on the water to any other reference point’. This little exercise will test your ability to understand the wind, stop drifting & make sure you have good control of the equipment. Once you can sail out from & back to the exact same spot you can turn your attention to learning new skill modules rather than just spending all your time trying to return to where you started from!

Improver lessons are best taken in modules. Learning faster tacks & gybes, how to beachstart, using the footstraps & planing windsurfing techniques all require a specific set of skills to be learnt. The best way to learn is to take 2 hour improver windsurfing lessons that focus on just one of these skill modules.

5. More windsurfing hire time – In between each of your improver windsurfing lessons you should hire windsurfing equipment to consolidate your learning. Hiring windsurfing equipment also gives you a great opportunity to test out different size boards & sails, so that should you want to buy your own windsurfing kit at some point, you will have a fair idea of what suits your size & current ability level.

That’s it!
5 Simple Steps To Learn How To Windsurf. After step 5 you just repeat taking new windsurfing skill modules followed by windsurf equipment hire time to practice what you are being shown. This applies all the way through to advanced windsurfing lessons including such skills as carve gybes, waterstarts and even the latest windsurf freestyle moves!

Air Taka:

Light Wind Big Moves from Maui Makani on Vimeo.

The leap in windsurfing standards has been matched by an equally impressive progression in filming. Just have a look at these clips from 2 of the latest windsurfing movies produced by Andre Paskowski, Stacked & the much talked about The Four Dimensions.

Stacked – This Windsurfing Movie shows you crazy Freestyle and Wave Action from the World Cup Spots Fuerteventura and Pozo.

The most recent addition to anyone’s windsurfing movie collection should surely be ‘The Four Dimensions’ film by Andre Paskowski, an amazing progression in how to film a windsurf movie. This movie takes both the filming & riding abilities to another level. Rich Page, Manager of the PWA sums things up very well…

“Four Dimensions is a dynamic and exciting departure from previous windsurfing movies. Not only showcasing the explosive nature and intense technical capabilities of modern windsurfing, but also bringing new and progressive production techniques to create an inspirational film. Compared to many of the great “legends” movies previously released, Four Dimensions also leads us into the future of windsurfing, turning the spotlight on some of the most talented young sailors in the sport. Already accomplished competition sailors, these riders are the new champions of windsurfing who will lead our sport into its next evolution. Whether familiar with windsurfing or not, I challenge anyone to watch this film and not want to just go out and do it!“

The Four Dimensions – windsurfing movie, official trailer

Nowadays, with good tuition from a windsurf school that has the latest windsurfing equipment people can learn the basics in a matter of hours, become competent improver windsurfers in a few months & with regular practice time, really get to grips with the more advanced learning elements within a summer season.

There really are no other watersports that have as much variety to offer. With windsurfing you can choose to go slalom blasting, bump & jump, wave riding, freestyle or light wind freestyle. Its a sport you will never get bored of because there is always something new you can learn!

Whilst you are watching this, thinking ‘oh my god – I want be as good as her’ (& that’s probably half the guys watching this clip included!!) just remember that this is from 2006!

Enjoy & aspire….

I plan to keep you updated with my efforts & maybe even some video evidence but to start with I want to share what I feel are the pre-requisits for learning the move & how I am trying to break it down into manageable chucks of learning!

As a teaser, here is a spot on example of how to make a Spock look far too easy…