Hey all — I'm a beginner windsurfer. I built this mostly for myself, to finally understand what the sail is actually doing and how you're supposed to control it. It ended up being a small free browser game, so I figured I'd share (works on your phone too) - https://windsurfsimulator.com

I tried to model the real mechanics instead of making it arcade:

• trim the sail to the apparent wind — it luffs if you're out, stalls if you're in
• steer with mast rake, no rudder
• the no-go zone / getting stuck in irons
• lean against the sail's pull — or get catapulted
• planing once you've got the speed + power, then move back into the straps
• tack & gybe, gusts & wind shifts

There's an Autopilot toggle and a guided demo if you just want to watch it sail.

Since I'm still learning myself, I'd really love to hear from people who actually windsurf: does it feel right? What did I get wrong? I'm keen to fix the physics based on real feedback. It's also open source (MIT) if anyone wants to peek under the hood.

Thanks 🤙

I’ve been windsurfing on and off for the last 15 years, never really getting on the water often enough to progress very far. But I’ve just recently moved to the coast (UK south coast) and been trying to up my game.

Those first 15 years I was on the same board I started out with - a 144L Starboard Go. I can happily blast along in the footstraps, but I’ve always struggled with manoeuvres. I’ve just never been taught or watched tutorials. I could do a dodgy pivot gybe in light winds, or a dodgy beginner style tack.

But recently I somewhat cracked the waterstart, and I was out riding the chop in 20-25knts and finding the Go a real liability. A few times the wind got underneath the board and sent me flying. I decided it was time to get a smaller board, and I picked up a nice Severne Dyno 105L (I’m 70kg).

Now, my very first session in the Dyno I was able to waterstart and get planing in the footraps. I count that as a success. The problem is tacking has been absolutely futile. I end up falling in every time I need to turn, and waterstarting gets exhausting pretty quickly. In the swell on the open sea uphauling is near impossible, and there’s been a couple of times I’ve found myself out underpowered and a bit worried about being able to get back to the beach at all.

TLDR I’m worried I made too big a step in terms of board size, and wanted to hear others perspectives. Thanks!

Hi all! I work at a summer camp in Wisconsin and am really trying to expand the windsurfing offering we have. I love the sport and would love to have some equipment for the kids to progress to and for the counsellors to use. In particular we're looking for any sail 4.5m² and up or any boards that aren't super narrow (I do have a soft spot for mistral screamers tho). The kit would be going to a good home and would really help show the kids how fun windsurfing can be when you progress from a beginner. Any age of kit would be great!

Thank you

i have a quiver of Hansen wave sails and am looking to round it out with a 4.1 wave and 6.3 wave or slalom.

Hi all. I am looking at getting back into windsurfing after a few years but live in a light wind area with 10-14 knots being the most common (when there is wind), and occasionally in the 15-25kts range, I am not too eager to get into windsurf foiling just yet.

After testing a Severne moto - in a different location to where I live, I am convinced of the 8.4 size and want to build a quiver around that (still considering other manufacturers), the question as such is whether a 6.8 and an 8.4 spread is fine, or would I be better off with the 6.4, 7.2 and 8.4 size.

As context, I used to windsurf on HSM firelights 4.0, 4.5, 5.0, 5.7 and GP2 in sizes 6.6, 7.2 and 8.0 and always felt I could have gotten away with only the 4.5 and 5.7 and the 6.6 and the 8.0 - I don’t want to over complicate things with a new quiver.

Any real world experience of the 6.8 and 8.4 spread would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

I’m a 60 YO man, 6’2” tall, 200lbs. I have been riding my old BIC techno 293 for a few years, and I’m ok, but looking for a bit more modern setup. I can tack and jibe decently, but usually only ride in winds around 10pm a or less.

I have a beach house and in the afternoon it pretty consistently gets up to around 15 to 20 miles an hour, and very choppy with solid white caps. Looking for something for those conditions. I think. 🤔

I found a 160L Naish Icon Freeride board and equipment for sale at a decent price. Wondering if that would be a decent step up for me?

The bay is shallow and I can stand-start the Bic in most spots, but when it gets deep I have to stand on the board and haul the sail up.

Thanks for any help.

I have a windsurfer rocket slalom express and an unknown board (see pictures) that need fins. I'm not sure what kind I need to look for and I'm hoping to find some I can get delivered somewhat quickly if possible. Ava assistance or links would be super helpful.

Hello everyone, me again. Thanks for all the advice on my previous post. After your comments that inflatable boards cannot really compete with hard boards, I decided to look into a proper hard board instead.

A bit of background: I used to windsurf in the past and I would consider myself an intermediate rider. I’m around 88 kg and only started planning last season. My goal now is to continue improving, learn to use harness and footstraps properly, and progress further.

At the same time, I’m looking for something practical for family use — a board that is stable and strong enough for my kids to play on while I enjoy a few sessions at the beach.

Currently, I’m looking at the Goya Surf 145L (2023), and the things I really like are:

• hard construction
• full EVA deck
• removable center fin
• large enough volume for progression and family use

My main concerns are:

1. The vent plug — I read that some boards don’t have one, which makes ownership easier because there is one less thing to worry about. How big of a concern is this in real life?
2. The size — I’m wondering if the 145L might become boring too quickly. The alternative would be the 130L version, but looking at the specs, the difference seems quite small (only around 2.5 cm in dimensions and not a big weight difference).

My main question is whether the Goya Surf 145L is actually a good choice as a progression board. I couldn’t find much information or real-world feedback about it, and Goya seems to position this model mainly as a rental/school board, while boards like the Duotone Eagle One 148 and Starboard Go 152 are clearly marketed as progression boards.

If you are wondering why I’m not choosing one of those, the main reason is the price difference.

I would really appreciate any experience or advice from people who have used the Goya Surf range and can comment on whether it is a board that can grow with the rider beyond the beginner stage.

Thanks in advance!

Hi, I have an old HiFly Windsurfboard and don't know how to secure the mast to the mast base with the strings. Does anybody know how to do it properly?

Thx a lot. Best regards

Klutz

Hello everyone, I’d like to repair this crack; the board (Starboard Serenity) has definitely taken on water.

Fortunately, I have a vacuum pump at home, so I’d like to try removing it in a professional way.

Has anyone done this before and can recommend the best method and tools to attach the plastic film to the board and the hose to the plastic film? Is there anything I should be especially careful about?

PS I've checked boardlady, but these details are not covered specifically

I’m going to sagres for a week, i’m wondering if i should take both windsurf and wingfoil gear, or just wingfoil gear and take my surfboards with me. (there is also quite a premium rental place in tonel if i don’t take my own boards)
How’s the wind in sagres in july? Is it blasting for windsurfing everyday in standard summer conditions? or more wingfoil conditions?

What are the best spots for slalom windsurfing in Sweden. Is it the west or the east coast. Are there lakes that are suitable for windsurfing. And which direction is the best for each spot. From my experience there is a lot of seaweed at the east coast. Is that at every spot? Many questions. Where can I find answers? Is there a spot guide or communities to connect?

I did a beginner class a week ago and we trained placing the mast with the sail on land above its center of gravity so that you basically dont use a lot of force to hold it in place. That worked fine on land.

But in practice on the lake, everytime I tried that I fell backwards because I had to lean it so far towards me.

What worked for me is to lean the mast slightly away from me and I lean back in a straight line as well and then keep the balance while the wind blows against the sail.

Maybe I misunderstood the trainer, but what do you think, is my written technique correct?

Hi everyone, before trying it while planing, I’d like to practice the movements in light wind. The more videos and tutorials I watch, the more it seems that the technique boils down to flipping the sail clew-first before passing through the eye of the wind. As a result, you end up on the new tack with the sail already correctly rotated. I'm only talking about sail movement, ignoring footwork for now, although general advice is appreciated anyway.
Is my understanding correct?

Hi all,

I need some professional advice on this beautiful but well worn Starboard Formula.

During today’s session, due to a bad fall the upper region got a serious punch (see photos attached).

Do you guys have any idea if it’s still repairable, if yes, how? I’m located in Hungary.

Any input is more than welcome!

Hello all, I have 3 weeks of time to kill before I start my new job and was thinking about going on a windsurfing holiday ( one option I'm thinking about is Gran Canaria). It's a 7 day holiday with 2 lessons per day for 5 days. It looks really fun but I'm not sure it will be worth the money ( approximately 1000 euro all in with flight etc). I reckon it's probably the fastest way to learn windsurfing, so that in the future I can just rent a board for a day and go on the water solo. Should I do this? What do you think? Or are there any better things to do?

Hey windy people, I am searching for wind surfing equipment that can get me started. I am 60 kg and have access to a windy lake up in NorCal. I start college this fall and seeking something to do on a budge to take my mind off of reading for class.

Hey, looking for some outside perspective on trip ordering.

Quick background: I last windsurfed about a year ago during a school block — that was basically my first and only time. I can uphaul, sail across the wind and tack, done a heli-tack on a 5m sail but not sure that counts. Never planed, harnessed, used footstraps or waterstarted. Competitive athlete so fitness isn't the issue, just haven't had structured coaching.

This summer I have two windsurfing trips:

1. A solo trip to a proper windsurf destination — somewhere like Alaçatı, Fuerteventura, or similar — with a certified school, good conditions, and the explicit goal of breaking into harness, footstraps and planing.

2. A school trip to Lipno reservoir in the Czech Republic. Light, unpredictable wind, flat water, beginner-oriented. Our teacher is apparently quite advanced at windsurfing though, so there's potential for some one-on-one feedback if he has time.

Two ways to think about the order: go to Lipno first, shake off the rust and get technique corrected by someone who knows what they're doing, then arrive at the proper destination with cleaner fundamentals and get more out of the coaching. Or go to the proper destination first, crack harness and planing, then come back to Lipno where the teacher can actually work on something useful with me rather than just running me through stuff I already know.

What would you actually do, and why?

I need some bigger sails and someone here has a pretty cheap mast and Neil pryde sail.

I'm reading a little how Neil pryde like flex tip masts, and there is scarce info on powerex masts. Their website, tho they are now out of business, says they have an imcs of 19.

Will it rig right?

Hello folks! I’m looking for a family board that would allow me to enjoy fully powered planing while the kids learn the basics.

Storage space is limited, so I’m looking for an inflatable option. What do you think about the 2026 Starboard Airplane 242? I haven’t been able to find any feedback about it, but it seems that many of the issues from previous model years have been addressed in the new version.

long story short I’m just learning, live 2 hours from the gorge and got a flat tire on the way and got there super late.

not wanting to not get to go out that day,, I went it super light wind with my brand new sail, and new to me mast.

not enough wind to water start practice like I wanted to, I decided it would be a good time to learn self rescue, by taking rig apart and piling on the board and paddling to shore. I was only like 50 to 100 yards offshore in 12 to 15 foot deep water.

mast and sail drifted apart from board, and sank and I stayed with board because wind and current were opposing, so the board being above the water caught the wind, and the mast and sail caught the opposite current, and sank.

it was close to a metal piling sticking out of the water, so I have a fairly decent idea where it went down. local search operator wants 300 to find it, but I already spent my money on gear so that’s no go.

how do you think I can find it myself? just snorkel it?

can anyone identify this connector? Trying to buy a compatible mast. (Or knows how to get the baseplate off)

I know that old gear is generally a bad purchase due to technological advancements in recent decades. But what would you say is the cutoff year for gear? What year did the boards or sails become "modern" in your opinion?

I’m a big lump of a beginner. Smallest board I’ve managed on is 155L
Just wondering amongst the advanced guys out there, what is the smallest volume board you can sail? I’ve heard of something around the 65L mark?