Windsurfing Lessons

Yes. An essential part of every windsurfing lesson is the on-shore briefing. This is where you'll meet your instructors, who'll explain what you'll be doing. Then you run through techniques on land, including how you launch your rig.

The basics of windsurfing are launching your rig (with your back to the wind, fact fans!) and understanding wind direction and what it does to your board and sail. You'll be shown how to haul the sail up from the water. The key here is to use your legs and not your back. Once you and the sail are upright, time to adopt the crossover stance and put your front foot in the strap. As you start moving off and the balance is good, it's time for the rear foot to go in its strap and away you go.

We won't tell you how to change course or how to tack (that's when you turn against the wind), we'll leave that to your skilled instructors to share with you so you'll hopefully be executing your first gybes out on the water by the end of your lesson.

It depends on the set up, but yes the instructors will either be stationed on the water's edge if they are close enough, and/or out on a boat in the area where you're learning. One thing's for sure, they're never far away if you need help.

Both! We have watersports centres offering lessons on both in-land freshwater lakes and on the sea.

You need to bring swimmers, a towel and a change of clothes. Wetsuits are generally provided for you, or can be hired cheaply on site for your lesson.

Depending on the temperature of the water, the windsurfing school will either provide neoprene windsurfing boots, or you can wear a pair of trainers you don't mind getting wet.

The instructors will select a board suitable for your build and experience. Back in the day, beginners often found just clambering up on the thing as it bobbed around in the water hard enough. These days trainer models are super lightweight, stumpier and fatter, making them really stable. There's even a special grip surface to help stop slipping feet.

Yep, that's right! Windsurfing has featured in the Summer Olympic Games for men since 1984 and 1992 for women. All riders use the same equipment, so they are all equal. You never know, if you really get into your windsurfing after your lesson it might be the start of something!

The best windsurfing schools in the UK are part of large centres that offering teaching and coaching for all sorts of watersports. We currently offer windsurfing lessons and courses at locations such as

• Poole
• Brighton
• Milford on Sea

When it comes to watersports, windsurfing is actually very reasonably priced. A two-hour taster session is the best value way to dip your toe into the sport and they come in at under £35 with all the tuition and gear included.

It has to be said, from the comfort of the shoreline windsurfing looks easy. But once you're standing there looking at the rig at your feet, it's a whole different story. Fortunately, since the sport took hold a couple of decades ago, technology has come on in leaps and bounds, so if you have good quality gear to learn with, you'll soon have this wind surfing lark sorted.

A turn on the water is a gybe in the UK (a jibe in the USA!). When you learn you are travelling at lower speeds, so you will be starting off with basic gybes (turns). Confident windsurfers who have mastered turning at high speeds whilst skimming across the water are doing what are called planing gybe turns - a more advanced move.

To go windsurfing your need a harness, a board, a mast, (which is mounted into the base of the board) and a shoulder height boom (that's the elliptical handle that you hold onto), with the sail attached. You're ready to go windsurfing!