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Why start again ?

Maybe you tried windsurfing 10 years ago and didn't like it then - so why should you like it now? Or perhaps you're just wondering whether you're strong and agile enough to take on such a challenge... In either case, let us put your doubts firmly at rest right now...

This is no idle claim or piece of marketing hype. Take it from us - windsurfing really never has been easier! A comparison of the equipment from now and just 20 years ago reveals a sport that has leapt from the stone age to the space age in those two short decades. Being a young and vibrant industry, manufacturers have never been slow in turning to and embracing new technologies and materials. Vastly improved understanding of the aerodynamic requirements and performance of windsurfing sails, along with widespread use of modern high-tech materials in just about every aspect of board, sail and equipment construction, has brought about incredible improvements. Boards and rigs offer much greater performance, are far more easy and enjoyable to use, and everything works and fits together much easier and efficiently.

The Boards
The average weight of a board has more than halved over the last twenty years, thanks to great improvements in both construction techniques and materials. Boards were originally built from polyethylene on a heavy PVC foam. Nowadays the vast majority of boards are built in light sandwich constructions using exotic materials like carbon and Kevlar around a much lighter foam core, and consequently weigh far less, while still being very stiff and strong. The average weight of a modern board is around 20 lbs : about the weight of a medium suitcase. Entry level, cruising and racing boards have also gone wider and shorter. These modern designs generate earlier planning and better acceleration in addition to being stable platforms for entry level sailors.

The Rigs
The 1976 windsurfing rig was an extremely cumbersome creature. Sails were made of very heavy materials and were shaped in such a way that they were difficult to pull from the water. Their shape - a direct descendent of basic dinghy sails as no-one had any better ideas at the time - were twitchy, unstable, heavy in the hands and very unforgiving to use, especially in stronger winds. Thanks to the application of advanced aerodynamic theory and very modern materials, sails of today are very light, very stable, very efficient, and bear little resemblance to their predecessors. They're extremely easy to use whether one is pulling them from the water or simply sailing along. The elongated triangle shape of 1976 is long gone, to be replaced with a design more resemblant of a modern aircraft wing, and a very constant structure with a fixed shape, maintained by numerous full-length battens and stabilizing components. Consequently, the sail is extremely stable and light in the hands, while generating far more power and speed than the rigs of yesteryear.