If you want to get out and explore nature, enjoy the freedom of the sea and maybe you think speed is really fun - then windsurfing is for you. Denmark is perfect for windsurfing with its long coastline and relatively short distance to the water wherever you are.
The easiest, and probably best, way to get started is to seek instruction from a windsurfing school/instructor or an experienced windsurfer who can teach you the basics.
You don't need to have done water sports before. Most people pick up pretty quickly how to tame the wind to get you going in the direction you want.
Obviously, getting started in windsurfing requires some equipment. This guide aims to answer some of the questions that might arise when buying your first windsurfing equipment. You can quickly end up buying some old used equipment that you'll never actually use because it's simply too difficult to learn the sport. A lot has happened in board and sail design in the last few years.
What do I need?
Here we're talking about so-called "hardgoods", i.e. everything other than clothing. To be ready for windsurfing, you need the following:
Windsurf board - which one should I choose?
When you're new to the sport, it can be a jungle to navigate the many types of windsurfing boards available - they all look similar. But there's a big difference, and many boards are great for one type of windsurfing and not so much for another. The main categories in windsurfing are:
Beginner
When you're a beginner, it's important to have a large and stable board. This will provide a good learning platform where you can learn to steer your sail and board in relation to the wind without having to worry about it being difficult to keep your balance. On windsurf boards, it's often their volume that is used as an indication of how much buoyancy and stability they have. On beginner boards the volume is high, typically 170-220 liters. The higher the volume, the more stability, but you'll also outgrow the board faster. Fewer liters will give you a less stable board, which is more difficult in the beginning, but on the other hand you will be able to use it longer into the future. A rule of thumb you can use is one liter per kilo of your weight, plus 100 liters. So if you weigh 75 kg, you'll need at least a 175 liter board.
In addition to the fin, a beginner board is often equipped with a sword. The sword is not to be confused with the fin. The fin is located at the back of the board and all windsurf boards should have one. If the board has a sword, it sits under the center and can be folded down as needed for extra directional stability.
Once you start to get the hang of sailing in all directions and want more speed and development, freeride can be a good place to start.
Freeride
Freeride is, as the name suggests, very free and is inherently about just having fun on the water. Whether that fun is about getting away from friends, sailing longer trips, progressing, or just having a good time, freeride is what most windsurfers do once they're past the beginner stage. Freeride is where many windsurfers really get hooked on the sport and where you start to plane, feel the speed and do your first carving jibes.
Freeride boards can be very different depending on where in the spectrum you look. At the more beginner-oriented end, the common denominator is that they are all made to be easy to plane, easy to handle, and with a focus on maximum fun and versatility. At the other end are what are also known as freerace boards. These are boards that focus on maximum speed and performance, similar to race boards, but more manageable and accessible.
When choosing your freeride board, it will be noticeably smaller than a beginner board. As a start, it's a good idea to choose a board that can still keep you afloat and with reasonable stability. In terms of volume, a basic rule of thumb here is one liter per kilo of body weight, plus about 50 liters. For example, if you weigh 75 kg, an appropriate size would be 125 liters. Again, more volume means more stability, while less volume means less stability but more speed and manageability in stronger winds.
As you begin to master planing, footstraps and jibes, you can move down to smaller boards to seek new challenges. Due to the popularity of freeride boards, it's often easy to resell your used board if you want to try something new and smaller.
Race
Race boards are designed to be the fastest on the water. Just like a race car, the versatility and comfort of a race board decreases as it is designed for racing. It's hard to realize the full potential of a race board, but if you do, you'll be rewarded with tremendous speed.
There are many different types of racing in windsurfing, so if you want to race, you should find out what type you want to race and then find a board that fits. There are the following disciplines, among others: Slalom, Formula, Foil and Distance.
If you just want the speed to be the fastest at the local spot, but don't necessarily want to race, you may want to go for a so-called Freerace board that offers the best of both worlds, racing and freeride
Windfoil
WindFoil is the latest and hottest thing in windsurfing. With windfoiling, the board is equipped with a hydrofoil that enables you to glide silently over the water. The benefits of windfoiling are obvious, as windsurfing is now possible even in very light winds, without compromising on speed or cruising performance.
Windfoil is for the experienced windsurfer. Windfoil requires a foil that is mounted where a normal fin normally sits. When it comes to boards, there are now also more and more boards designed as dedicated foil boards. These boards make foiling easier and better, but importantly, their fin box is designed for the forces that the foil exposes them to. If you use a standard, non-reinforced windsurf board for foiling, you risk ripping the fin box out of it.
Wave/freestyle
Wave and freestyle are two different disciplines, but both require a lot of practice and experience, and the boards used are relatively small and designed for windsurfing in windy conditions. Here you can have a board that basically can't keep you afloat unless you're up to speed. The biggest waveboards can usually be used for "bump-n-jump" freeride when it's really windy.
SUP Windsurfing
Some SUP boards are fitted for use with windsurf sails, allowing you to windsurf when you get tired of paddling. A SUP Windsurf board can be a great solution for your summer cottage, for example, as it offers great versatility by being used for both windsurfing and SUP. SUP Windsurf boards are primarily aimed at windsurfing beginners or those who want to do a bit of everything.
Rig - what is it and what should I choose?
The rig is the engine when windsurfing, so it's also important to get the right rig for your needs and level. A rig consists of several components, of which the main component is the sail. The sail comes in many different types and sizes, each of which caters to a specific level, wind strength and type of windsurfing.
Beginner
Beginner sails are made to be as easy to handle as possible. The sails are usually relatively small (under 5.5 m2) and both the material and shape are designed to make the sail easier to pull out of the water and steer. Therefore, the sail is often made of "Dacron", which is what you would associate with the material of a classic boat sail. This material is lighter and much more durable than the transparent "monofilm" that many other windsurf sails are made of. The choice of material and design means that the sail is not stable enough if you want to sail fast. A freeride sail could be the better choice. An alternative to a beginner sail could also be a smaller (under 5 m2) wave or freeride sail.
Freeride
Earlier in this guide, the freeride discipline was described, and again with sails, this is the all-round discipline of them all. Many windsurfers carry multiple sails, giving a wider range of wind strengths in which to windsurf. But if you only want one sail, a freeride sail between 5.5 m2-6.5 m2 could be a good solution. Freeride sails are characterized by being fast but easy to handle and rig. If you're new to freeride, you should look for a sail without a camber. A camber is typically seen on racing or freerace sails and is a type of clamp or cleat that sits in extension of the sail pin end, towards the mast. They give the sail a good and stable profile for fast sailing, but make both rigging and handling more difficult.
A couple of good choices for freeride sails that are easy to handle and beginner friendly would be Neil Pryde's Fusion and Ryde series.
Race
Just like windsurf race boards, race sails are designed for uncompromising speed and acceleration. This in turn results in sails that are difficult to handle and only suitable for advanced windsurfers. The sails are usually equipped with cambers, which makes rigging and maneuvering more difficult, but provides plenty of speed and stability. The camber design also gives a wide mast pocket, which makes the sail heavy to pull out of the water. Race sails are generally large sails and come in sizes from 5.5 m2 to over 12 m2. If you want to try your hand at a racing sail but aren't quite sure if you can handle it, a freerace sail is a good approach. Freerace sails are available both with and without cambers and provide race-like performance but in a more manageable package. At One Open Sky we sell 2 race sails from Neil Pryde, these are their Speedster and V8 series. The Speedster series is by far the easiest to access as a beginner in windsurf racing. Their series has 2 cambers, which makes it a sail that requires a little more skill to master.
Wave
Wave sails are usually quite small (under 5 m2) and designed for good maneuverability and manageability in strong winds. The sails are built with strong materials that give them greater resilience in case you fall over in a wave and get washed around with the sail. There are wave sails designed for specific wind and wave conditions, but it's also possible to get all-round wave sails that allow you to use them in many different conditions.
Freestyle
Freestyle is most often performed on relatively flat water, and although wave sails are very similar in appearance to freestyle sails, there are significant differences. Freestyle sails are designed for maximum manageability in the fast aggressive maneuvers of freestyle, as well as to provide the best possible "pop" so you can fly higher when doing your freestyle moves.
Windsurfing Mast
The mast is one of the easier things to choose. It basically just needs to fit the dimensions of the sail or sails you want to use it with. However, there are some things that make them different from each other. The length of the mast must fit the sail, and the mast is usually a little too short, so the last part is done with a mast extension. On the sail it is stated which mast length is suitable for that particular sail.
RDM or SDM describes whether the mast is a "Reduced Diameter Mast" or "Standard Diameter Mast". Basically, the two types of masts can do the same thing, but RDM masts are mostly used for smaller sails and for Wave/freestyle, where maneuverability is in focus. SDM is used for larger sails where stability is weighted higher than maneuverability.
Carbon percentage, the amount of carbon fibers is given in percent. A low percentage gives a durable mast with lower performance and a high percentage gives a very performance oriented mast that is more expensive and more fragile. In addition, you should choose a mast with the right "curve". As a rule of thumb, there are two types; Flex-top and constant curve. If you use a Neilpryde sail, you should choose a Neilpryde mast, as this is the Flex-top type and Neilpryde sails are designed accordingly. Other brands of masts are almost always of the constant curve type and fit with non-Neilpryde sails.
Boom
As with the mast, the boom is easy to choose. All booms are adjustable in length, so it's important to find a boom that can be adjusted to the exact length you need. Booms are available in aluminum, carbon fiber, or a mix of the two. Carbon fiber booms are expensive and are usually only used by those looking for maximum performance, for example in racing. Most people will be able to make do with an aluminum boom.
Mast extender
An extender is used to lengthen the mast so that the mast dimensions match the luff length stated on the sail, which is the length of the front part of the sail from bottom to top. Very rarely does the mast fit the sail exactly in length. This is done to give both the sail designer and the windsurfer some adjustment options, which is why you need an extension.
Of course, when buying an extender, there are a few things you need to be aware of. First and foremost, the extension must fit the mast. Here you need to look at whether you have an RDM or SDM mast. Next, you need to make sure that your base/joint between board and rig is of the same type. This includes whether they are UXT or MXT. Both the base/joint and the extension must be of the same type. The length of the base is not important in the first place, as long as your mast length + extension length is equal to or longer than the luff length stated on the sail.
Base/Joint
Your base/joint is the connection between your board and your rig. As described under "extension", it's important that the extension and base fit together. So if you choose the UXT type, both must be of this type, and if you choose MXT, both must be of this type. The most common type is UXT, but many are starting to switch to MXT as it is less sensitive to sand and dirt between the extension and base. Be aware that the movable rubber joint on the base becomes tender over time. Keep an eye out for any cracks or signs of wear. It's no fun to break the base in the middle of the water - so change the base before it happens!
