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!
Windsurfing Lessons - 5 Steps To Learn How To Windsurf
03/07/2010 00:50
Before you book any windsurfing lessons, there are definitely some essential tips that can be passed on to make things go a lot smoother. Having seen people learn to windsurf in just about any which way possible, I thought it would be a good idea to give all of you looking to get into the sport a few pointers and 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! 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!
Windsurfing Boards & Windsurfing Sails - What Size?
03/07/2010 00:48
Following up on my last post giving a buyers guide to choosing windsurfing equipment I came across a very useful tool for figuring out what windsurfing board, windsurfing sail & fin size you should have.
Whether you are just moving on from the learn to windsurf stages and trying to decide what your first windsurfing board should be or you are a seasoned pro trying to fill a gap in your windsurfing sails quiver, this interactive spreadsheet guide to choosing the right windsurfing boards, fins & windsurfing sails is really useful.
Windsurfing Boards Fire up the spreadsheet in Excel, choose the 'Board Size' tab & enter your weight in KG or lbs.
The program tells you:
Minimum size beginners board you should be using
Ideal first short board
Smallest size windsurf board that can be uphauled
Know what size windsurfing boards you should have
Windsurfing Sails Move across to the Windsurfing Sail Size tab, enter your wegith in KG or lbs.
The program displays:
Two lists showing different wind strengths & what size sail you should be using
A separate list showing wind strength & sail size for a beginner
A graph showing ideal sail size v's wind speed
Finding exactly the right size sail for a given wind strength
Windsurfing Fins Move to the last 'Fin Size' tab, enter your weight in KG or lbs & sail size in sq metres.
The program calculates the recommended fin size for you:
Fin size for - underpowered, ideal wind & over powered conditions
Adjusted sizes for - freeride, slalom, wave, formula & even sailing where there is weed!
Know the right size windsurfing fin for any sail size
Having checked through a few examples myself the calculations are pretty accurate to the real world. All credit to James Douglass who developed this number crunching monster. If you want your own copy of this great guide click the following link Ultimate Windsurfing Equipment Size Calculator
With all that data at your finger tips you should never be stuck trying to figure out what windsurfing kit you should be buying or sailing on!
Video & Photo's from the weekends windsurfing courses
03/07/2010 00:43
The weekend just gone was a hot and busy one! It seemed like everyone wanted to be at the beach. The best place to be was out on the water at Poole Harbour. We had lots of windsurfing courses running, group beginners windsurfing courses, windsurf hire & a great hen party windsurfing lesson!
Have a look at how nice it was out on the water at Poole Harbour.....
Working around the tide, on Saturday we had morning group beginners windsurfing lessons with really good conditions for learning the basics then there was a low tide over lunch time (perfect timing!) followed by a great windsurfing hen group event. All the ladies were loving the windsurfing & some of them may have even found themselves a new hobby!.
On Sunday the beginners were completing their learn to windsurfing course, alongside an intermediate windsurfing course where we were working on faster tacks, beach starts & harness. In the afternoon we had a group windsurfing taster session running on into the lovely warm, sunny late afternoon - perfect!
A happy Hen Group Relaxing after a great time out windsurfing!
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 special offer group discount deal where for any booking of more than 5 people, we give 1 place FREE on any course booked with us at Poole Windsurfing.
Finding The Right Personal Windsurf Insurance?
03/07/2010 00:17
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!
Follow the Windsurfing Photo & Video Action from Poole Windsurfing
03/07/2010 00:09
Check out the action & keep up to date with all the photo's & video from Poole Windsurfing. See photo's from the windsurfing lessons direct on our photo gallery page or have a browse through our extensive range of Windsurfing Photo Albums, including some scenic shots from around the area.
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.
News & Reviews on the Poole Windsurfing Facebook Fan Page
Summer is on the way - Perfect Learn to Windsurf Conditions
03/07/2010 00:07
June 2010 - So, finally it looks like the weather is changing. Studying all the forecasting websites it looks like we are set for a run of perfect 'Learn to Windsurf' weather.
Latest Wind Forecas
The wind is swinging round to West, South West as we speak & the temperatures are set to creep up over the coming week. All this equals ideal windsurfing conditions down here at Poole Harbour.
An great time to come on one of Poole Windsurfing's beginners windsurfing courses & for the days where the wind is picking up some more it will be perfect for intermediate windsurfing lessons. Now is the time to get back out there on the water and see what you remember from last summer. Remember Poole Windsurfing is always there to help with some friendly advice, windsurfing lessons or windsurf hire.
Hope to see you all out on the water soon, lets make the most of the great conditions that are on the way!
Poole Windsurfing School - Official Opening Day
03/07/2010 00:05
Yesterday (1st May) was the official opening day of the Poole Windsurfing School.
Conditions were perfect for learning & all the latest 2010 windsurfing equipment from Goya, RRD, Amex & Billabong was being unwrapped & taken out on the water by the lucky student on this first day of the season.
Everything from kids, adults & right up to advanced windsurfing equipment was being taken out on the water. Group beginners windsurfing lessons, private windsurf tuition & windsurfing hire was all happening throughout the day.
Initial feedback was fantastic, everyone loved the new 2010 equipment. The beginners boards from both RRD & Goya were a big hit & the advanced 'Guru' & FXR' windsurfing sails from Goya were being put through their paces by some more experienced windsurfers.
Everyone from the beginners through to the more advanced guys out hiring windsurf equipment from us at Poole Windsurfing really liked the RDM (Reduced Diameter Masts) that are used exclusively throughout our windsurf school. They may be more expensive but we really feel the benefits to the students is worth it!
Check out our NEW Photo Gallery Page to see more from the Poole Windsurfing School setup. The photo gallery page is going to be used to give regular photo album updates of windsurfing lessons, location shots & all the latest windsurfing action from around the area.
When I get a moment after this initial opening weekend I will post more about exactly what equipment we have waiting for you to use this season, including a low down on the beginners/improvers kit & one all about the advanced windsurfing boards & windsurf sails.
