Before you book any windsurfing lessons, there are definitely some essential tips that can be passed on to make things go a lot smoother. People try to learn to windsurf in just about any which way possible, yet for those looking to get into the sport a few pointers can get your windsurfing off to a great start!

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!
Five 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