This guide was written for beginning windsurfers in the Cal Sailing Club. We are putting it on the net in hopes that it may assist other beginning windsurfers. Note that this guide is not intended as a substitute for instruction by a professional windsurfing school or sailing club. Furthermore, after mastering beginning windsurfing, there is still a world of new skills to master (see Where to go from here).
We have divided this guide into 10 sections. Choose the section that you want to work on:
1. Selecting your equipment and site
6. Steering
7. Tacking
10. Sailing in higher winds (>12 Knots)
The guide assumes knowledge of sailing terms and concepts. If you do not know a tack from a jibe, a broad reach from a beam reach, or are clueless about clews, click here for sailing terms.
Each of the ten sections includes basic instruction, some helpful hints and miscellaneous information. Some of these hints concern safety and we feel that it is important that you read them.
We would like your feedback on this site so that we can improve it. Also, if you are in the San Francisco Bay area, visit our sailing club in the Berkeley Marina.