From BEGINNER to PRO SPEEDSURFER: How I Learned Windsurfing (self taught)
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- Опубліковано 5 чер 2024
- Today I'll share my full story of how I learned windsurfing as a beginner and how I progressed to become a Pro Speedsurfer. It's a lot of talking so beware ;)
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I feel that story so much!
Great story, interesting read. I started windsurfing like 10 years ago when we went on holiday to Bonaire and my children took a course of 3 days windsurfing. During these days I rented windsurf equipment and went on my own. I could already do a bit of windsurfing because 30 years earlier in the beginning days of windsurfing I had done quite some windsurfing during a holiday in Spain. After the holiday on Bonaire I started renting windsurf equipment where I live. Four years ago I bought my own gear and since then I'm really hooked. Fortunately where I live you can windsurf all year around in tropical windy conditions.
What for me is a big plus is that, despite I'm almost 60, I'm still improving. I am going faster, learned myself the duck gybe last year, this year I'm learning myself the heli tack, the upwind 360 and the laydown gybe. I'm always looking out for the weekends to go surfing and quite often looking at the trees and my windapp to take the afternoon off from work to go out on the water.
My parents didn't and don't do windsurfing. I think I started because a friend did. Surfed for over 10 years (15-25), dit some competitions and moved to another town and forgot about windsurfing till last year. The kids did a windsurfing course, I touched a boom and the rest is history. Totally hooked again and on the water whenever I can. I was sad when Nils told us he got sick of all the disappointing sessions and loosing motivation. I reconized this feeling but I try to remember the good ones.
Nils, great rundown of your journey thus far...man, as you shared with me on the phone last week, you'll crack that 50 & more an 49.9!...trust me...the way you've rocked to that speed, you'll be crackin' 51k by '25, easily!
Talk again real soon.
ybfam Byron in Toronto
Started windsurfing because my dad bought gear for our family. And now my children do it. I started wave surfing when my children wanted to hit the waves. So I started that aged 50+ and it really boosted my skills and thrills.
The stories are very similar. My father used to Windsurf a bit, and I tried it a couple of times until doing a 4 day course in Fuerte which provided a good base. I inherited my father’s old long slalom board which was difficult to get planning, and impossible to transport since I had no car as a student. Then it took 10 years to afford and find the right gear for myself, have a car, find a good spot (Veluwemeer it was for me) and time. Progressing in Windsurfing is a lot about having opportunities to practice.
Yes, in my case it was also that I started windsurfing because of my family. My parents bought windsurf gear in the early 80s and used it mainly in the summer holidays in Greece. At that time I was 7 or 8 years old and too weak and lightweight to pull out the rigg. Then in 1984, I was ten, we met another family in Brittany in France who had a small lightweight rigg for children.
After that I got my own small rigg. That was when I learned light wind windsurfing. In 88 I taught myself the waterstart, planing and using the harness in Holland with magazin tutorials and a book on a Fanatic Viper. I was really hooked then. In 1990 with 18 years I bought my first own small board, a Fanatic Rat. The 90' were my main time of windsurfing. Often going to Holland, Leucate, Tarifa and Greece. Having a 74 liter waveboard and small sails for high wind and a 96 liter slalom Board and race sails. It became my passion. Then I started studying and later worked for a windsurf company and then went to Greece to work as a windsurf teacher in 2000. After that my windsurfing became less frequently. The passion is still there but it's just not possible due to different reasons (relationship, place of life, work and mental health problems in the last years), unfortunately.
I would love to comeback to windsurfing fully. Hopefully it happens soon. Next year I can celebrate my 40th year of windsurfing. I know nearly everything about this sport. I read nearly every surf magazine. Windsurfing is a big part of my life and my identity.
When I watch your videos I can see the general feeling of windsurfing which you transport is still the same as in my old days in the 90'. Thank you for that!
Supernice and honest video! Loooking forward to see Your progress in waveriding, that's the one thing missing here on youtube: beginner/intermediate waveriders.👍
Great video which gave a good impression of your windsurfing carreer. I started 45 years ago when I was 12 and windsurfing was something new and trendy in the 80. Started on a windracer and from that moment I was hooked. Bic Show, Windsurfer rocket 88, AHD and a lot of windsurfing gear later I am still windsurfing a lot. It is what you said in your video, you forget everything on your mind when you are windsurfing. For me It is a passion!
Thank you this was very interesting! Both my parents windsurfed in the late 80s early 90s, my dad was also into sailing and did some racing with sailboats. From that I only have memories that they were windsurfing on a lake at our summerhouse. When I was a kid I did some optimist sailing and also sailed in the sea scouts. Then as an adult I was able to fulfil my dream of trying out wave surfing in Morocco. From that I got inspiration to start windsurfing as we have water and (some wind) in Finland but no proper waves. So I dusted out my dads old windsurfing gear and started windsurfing about 4 years ago. From that the passion started and I really love windsurfing. During the long winter I cannot go windsurfing here but picked up snowboarding again after about 25 years to get some board training also during the winter.
I started windsurfing when I got bored of sailing in the Optimist, and in my case, it was the opposite of yours. My dad started windsurfing after me. Really nice video, Nils!! Greetings from Galicia, Spain.
I bought a old windsurf seatrend set planning in use it as a SUP for fun, had no idea what windsurf was… started reasearch about windsurf on youtube for curiosity, gave s try and ended up loving it, once i got planning for the first time then I got obsessed about it and is all i wanna do on my free time. 😅
Nice, the fanatic bee got me back into windsurfing 4 years ago now I have two both green one about 120ltr dirt cheap my favorite and 97 ltr that I got for free when another local Windsurfer saw the first board. Hey you want a matching set, he'll ya, Can only get out on the 97 ltr when wind is blowing above 25kts
Great story. Thanks Nils!
Nice story, so many similarities, from used mish mash of gear to someone who takes the time to help with your self learned techniques.
My dad started at an older age, that got me into it as well. 3 weeks a year during holiday. I really want to go further in speed surfing, i just don't have the luxury of a friend who van come along and has the techniques to improve from.
Always looking forward to your vids and try to improve my own game.
Thanks.
Nice one Nils. Clearly the honesty is appreciated and so many can relate. I also have seafaring qualifications and should be doing that work now, but i'm windsurfing, hooked! 🤩
I am curious what work you actually do at Point-7
I have 20 years now and enjoy windsurfing 2/3 years. I just love it but in Poland we don’t have conditions all year😢 but yours films gives me so much knowledge thank you for that :-))
Hey Nils I started windsurfing in 1985 but my first experience was on a windsurf one board 1982 approx in Cassis France 🇫🇷. I was a professional tennis player and was playing a tournament in Cassis. The family I was staying with had 2 daughters maybe 12 and 14 years old. They took me to the ocean and showed me how to windsurf. They could do it so easily and all I did was fall off after every uphaul! We only did it the one time but I was hooked. How could a 12 year old girl do this so easily and I couldn't! I didn't windsurf again until I retired from completion 1985 other than one time on a lake in Hamburg.
I'm Australian but lived in Germany on and off for 5 or 6 years while playing tennis in Europe. I return to Australia in 1985 and immediately bought a windsurfing set up. Bombora board and sail. A low volume board that was super difficult to learn on but I managed.. Then moved onto very low volume custom glass boards as I was primarily focused on surf and heavy chop conditions in Melbourne. I was like you completely obsessed with the sport and actually it helped me so much with my tennis as the fitness, balance and strength you get from windsurfing is so useful on the tennis crt. I played at a very high level for the next 10 years locally in Australia due to just being so strong and fit.
I eventually moved to Western Australia Perth solely due to my passion for windsurfing as WA is the Mecca of wind sports in Australia. So windy and so many great spots and very warm most of the year! After WA I moved to Gold Coast Queensland and lived in Hong Kong for 6 years. In 2005 I migrated to kitesurfing as windsurfing in the late 90s had stagnated until JP started making their bump and jump high volume short boards. By then I had already switched to the dark side! If you want some of the best wind and conditions for high speed sailing try Taiwan it's insane wind on the east side of the island for 9 months of the year. Some of the top kitesurfing designers do their R&D there as the conditions are heavy frequent and nobody there so you can test in secret. I saw the development of 2 kite brands there and got to know the designers very well.
Anyway this is getting a little too long but I just had to let you know of my journey in the sport and the fact that I have very fond memories of Germany in the early 80s both on and off the tennis court.. Good luck with your journey in windsurfing it looks like foiling is the future as it marries all disciplines into one! Windsurfing, kiting, wing, surf sup all into one when your on a foil. I watched a local French sailer at my local spot (Gold Coast) ex PWA competitor. Sailed from my local out thru the channel to the ocean and sail down to Currumbin Beach and back in 12 knots on a huge fat board and a 9m sail. He was flying on the foil in 12knots was too light for me to even consider kiting on my 12m naish pivot which is a super grunty kite! Windsurfing looks like it's taking off again especially since foiling has become popular. I follow Nico Pren and now I follow you!
Good luck surviving the winter over there I'm stuck here in 35 degrees but we manage somehow 😂.. Merry Christmas
Hi Joff, what an inspiring story, thanks for sharing it! I actually played tennis a lot until about 18/19 years old and then stopped slowly when I became addicted to windsurfing, it's still fun to play a few sets every now and then and I completely agree that the two sports align well with both needing good body/core strength, fitness, etc... Foiling is part of the Future of Windsurfing, but I also believe the fin will always have it's place also in the Future!
Thanks for sharing your journey. Very interesting
It would be nice if you can make videos about how to wave windsurf, showing your journey and mistakes as you progress. That would be super interesting for us lake freeriders.
something exciting is coming up for waves :)
Great story. Always interesting to see how people follow there passion and the doors it opens. Hope you have many more years in windsurfing.
Inspiring! happy that you have followed your passion. Greetings from Spain :)
Thanks Miguel! Greetings to Spain!
Easily one of my favourite videos so far! Great narrative, great images, and a really great plan for the future! ☺ I got into windsurfing because at thirteen my mum wouldn't let me take kitesurfing lessons (windsurfing seemed safer to her). I dragged my bother along, who then started to windsurf with this floppy-haired friend of his, who then got his sister hooked, who is now on her way to becoming my long-sought after kitesurfing partner! 😁 so go Allrounder, and show us some kiting, waving, and SUP as well 🤙😊
Have been windsurfing since 1991, begun at 15yo on a California 390, 23kg.
Now a days I almost only sail waves, so it will be fun to see how you progress in that discipline. Where are you going to surf waves?
I also had Naish freeride slalom as my first great board.
No one of my family does watersports. I startet Windsurfing after I tried Surfing in Fuerteventura. In case of missing waves on my lokal lake ( Möhnesee😉) I tried Windsurfing and get addicted.
best home spot ;)
Really pretty cool 😎
Thats the spirit!
My father said: "Do something you love...and you will never have to 'work' a day in your life."
Nice bio👍
Tack!
Thanks for supporting the channel :)
you were such a cute kid😁😁
Thanks, but young people under 25 could not follow 20 minutes concentrated. Maybe it's better to make part 1 to part 3 out of it? 🤙
Is there anyone younger than 25 who follows windsurfing channels? 😂
nice video .i started windsurfing 35years ago with sme long and haevy board some 36 kg, nex week we go to Tarifa for 2 weeks and my douther will try to windsurf