Ready to get into this sport.. Unfortunately there is not a lot of forum/guides online. Also its not super popular in Illinois.. BTW I live in Libertyville. Northern chicago suburb.


A lot of people on reddit said beginner should take some lessons. The only one I can find is northwestern sailing club.. which is booked out weeks ago and I have been on their private lesson wait list for 1 month now.

There is no rentals near here.. I couldnt find it anywhere...


Where should I start?


Should I just fully commit 3000 dollars for a full set? Reddit /r/windsurf said I should buy used first.. I cant find anything decent on eBay or craigslist.. I dont want to buy a 30 year old grandpa board...

Any tips/advice would help!! thanks!!

What you DON'T want is to buy a board that you will quickly outgrow and then have no use for. I would recommend a wind-SUP (stand-up paddle board). You can buy these used from a couple manufacturers. I've been windsurfing shortboards exclusively for 30+ years, and got a wind-SUP two years ago to practice in light winds, and I love it! I have a Fanatic Allwave, which I can use to windsurf, SUP, or SUP-surf, and it works really really well. Because you live by lake Michigan, you will definitely get some surfing use out of a wind-SUP. It's super fun for those 2-5 ft waves that the lake gets all the time. You'll use it to learn to windsurf, and then you will use to SUP, surf, explore later on. You'll never want to sell it.
There's a ton of used gear around in your area, so I would recommend just going out to the local windsurfing spot on a windy day and meeting some of the locals and asking for help with gear selection. Start with a small sail (5.0) to learn and go from there. Small sails are MUCH easier to learn with.
If you can, plan a trip to a warm place with a laguna and take a lesson or two: Corpus Cristi, TX, Hatteras, NC, and Tampa, FL are all good spots in the US. Bonaire is the best in the carib.

Max -

Can't argue with anything Eric said... a couple thoughts to add though. (I started windsurfing in 1977, was a "garage" Windsurfer dealer for a while. I've probably taught 80+ beginners over the years. Just so you know I'm not talking out my arse )

Lessons are great if you can get them. You're welcome to come over, but it's about 3 hours drive...

There are a bunch of "beginner" boards that are 9-10 feet long and 3 feet wide. They are great for the first two hours because they are very stable, but they move through the water like a bulldozer. Get something 11-12 feet long, 28-30" wide and make sure it has a centerboard. A board like this will move easily (aka "glide") through the water (like a canoe or long kayak) and is way more fun than the "bulldozer" boards. Also, the soft deck boards are really great when you are learning.

For a beginner sail/rig, you want light and tough. I also think that beginners do better with a sail that can luff (easily depower when you sheet it out). The majority of modern sails do not luff, but not all I love HotSailsMaui SuperFreaks because they are light, tough and they luff. They are great sails for learning, but they also a great for freeride and they are fabulous for wavesailing (I use them on my dedicated waveboards as well as my SUP in waves)

So my recommendation (under $3k) for gear would be:
a) a Windsurfer LT board and the standard 5.7m sail/rig. (the LT also makes a good SUP paddleboard if there's no wind)
b) a Windsurfer LT board and a HotSailsMaui Superfreak (sized 5.0 ~ 5.8 depending on how big you are)

Choice b) would be more flexible in the long run if you end up addicted and want several boards and sails.

If you can find one, a used Mistral Superlight is a great board for learning, and you can get them very cheap. Mine was free!

I will add some more to this tomorrow, along with some links. Beginners have a habit of buying the wrong equipment, often on the advice of the people selling the gear. Someone with experience (who isn't trying to make a buck off you) can help you get good gear that will last and be something you want to use in the long term.

Drew

Welcome, Max!

Here's some info/links I posted in a previous thread. Consult with us before pulling the trigger on anything so you don't wind up buying twice down the road.

We have a modern beginner board at Clinton Lake that we can give you a free lesson on sometime.



Beginner Board Guide

"First piece of advice – don’t just buy that £100 board you see on eBay as it’s likely to be the windsurfing equivalent of a wooden tennis racquet! Have lessons first, hire for a while and then you’ll have a better concept of board sizes, names and what you want from the sport. When you’re ready to buy, select a board that offers long-term potential for your needs and aspirations, but isn’t too challenging to sail. In basic terms, boards are of similar length, but they vary more in width and volume. Wider, higher volume boards (140-200L) are more stable and easier to sail and suit beginners, improver-intermediates, lighter winds and inland waters."

"The new ‘widestyle’ boards are so much easier and lighter than boards from a few years ago. They’re at least 75-90cm wide, which reduces your chances of falling off and increases your control and ease of getting ‘planing’. They’re undoubtedly the easiest boards to sail on the market! The ones we’re suggesting here aren’t the massive white 200-220L school ‘platforms’ you might have had your lessons on: these are sporty, fun and perfect for embracing the early stages of the sport."

Link: boards.co.uk/how-to/boardwise-beginners-board-guide.html



Windsurfing Gear For Beginners | Choosing Your First Windsurf Board And Other Equipment

"You will probably learn to windsurf using a training sail (under 5m) but it isn't worth buying a training sail, as once you come to the point where you are ready to purchase kit, you want it to help you progress. You don't want it to be too big otherwise it is too heavy and hard to control. As a general rule, most beginner adults buying their first sail would look at a 5m to 6m sail, but it really does depend on your height/weight and ability."

Link: mpora.com/adventure/windsurfing-kitesurf...beginners-equipment/

Good find by Jason....

Windsportsclub in Deerfield IL.

Link : windsportsclub.business.site/

Hi there,
Not an absolute beginner but definitely need to work on skills. Took first lesson last year on a beginner board and a 3.5 sail. I'm still working on gybes (if you can call them that) but already had a couple of successful beach starts. I'm still working on waterstarts, harness, and managed to handle a 5.0 sail with a 190L board with a retractable dagger being able to go downwind and return to the shoreline upwind with a strong offshorewind of 20 knots. Aruba.
While not afraid of salt water, I'm a little fearful of being stuck on the bottom of some lake up here in the midwest and possibly drowning.
Looking to refine my skills as to not even fall in the water and then trying Lake Michigan or see what you guys do up here and maybe join in if I'm allowed.

Hey,
I hope this is not heresy on this site, but as one of the most avid windsurfers in Chicago over the past 25 years, I have encouraged beginning watermen to consider WING FOILING as an alternative to windsurfing. I have not yet taken the plunge, but everything I have learned about it is that the payoff for the effort might be a bit faster and it looks really fun. Acquaintances who have tried to teach their kids windsurfing have found the kids took to wing foiling much faster. I think the pathway to success might be faster and involve less gear.
First you get a wing and a cheap inflatable SUP and you learn to plow along upwind downwind jibe etc, learn to control the wing and power yourself along. Then separately begin to learn the foil by either buying an e-foil session or tow session. Then you can learn the wing and foil. Check out youtube, see if you think would like.
No doubt, windsurfing is awesome, and multisport watermen will generally claim that windsurfing is the best for speed and power when the wind is good, and is the safest overall.

Hello G, welcome

Sounds familiar, as you're in a similar spot to where I was last year. Ended up buying a bunch of new gear and spent last fall getting in as much time on the water as I could. Very rewarding.

There are some really good lakes to learn on that have features that make them easier and safer. So far I've only sailing Silver Lake and Lake Andrea in WI, both of which are small. Silver especially has a very gradual slope and generally soft bottom so you can happily stay close to the beach while figuring stuff out.

Do you have gear yet? You might keep an eye on these pages for days that look promising where other windsurfers are going to a good spot to learn at. I've found people have been really generous with advice and time before and after launching.

As for safety, I've quite happily worn a PFD and have seen lots of experienced windsurfers doing the same, especially late in the season. Also recommend a phone in a waterproof bag and have heard that some of the little lakes the DNR will actually give you a ticket if you don't carry a whistle.

As to the wing, David may be on to something. Every one I've talked to says it's a faster learn than windsurfing. I bought a wing on here and have played with it on ice skates and skis and found it incredibly intuitive to handle. I'm hoping my wife will try it out with her SUP one day, but we shall see as the purchase of that wing definitely resulted in some eye-rolling.

Good luck and let us know if you have questions!

Hey there, I ended up putting my hands on a 5.9 Nexus attached to a Fanatic Blast 130L. Not very floaty but I'm just under 165lbs.I will also get later a 4.5 or so for those 20+ knots days.
Thanks for the advice, i do plan on wearing safety gear as you guys advised and I'm not getting in any lake you guys are not in.
I can be happy swimming/floating over a 13,000 deep abyss but I have full respect for the lakes around here, takes just 3 feet to drown.

That sounds like pretty good gear to get going with that'll also last a while as a light wind board.

If you launch with other windsurfers around, I'd recommend asking someone friendly looking to eye your gear to make sure you're setup right. They can probably tell how your important rig settings are, and make sure nothings rigged wrong that could cause you issues on the water.

Hope to meet you in person, have fun with it!

Fanatic Blast and Nexus a great combination. The Nexus has great range that will easily go to very high wind ranges (20+ kts). You would get a lot more use by getting a 7.0, I think I used less than 6.0 2 times last year. If you are using that 5.9 Nexus with a 430 mast, there are many 7.0 sails that also use that length mast. The Nexus 6.9 (I have 2019 version) recommends a 460 mast but at 462 luff length a 430 would easily work for a light weight sailor. My only problem with the Nexus is that it requires A LOT of downhaul and has very curved luff, and it's impossible to prevent the monofilm from crinkling while rigging and derigging. Crinkling weakens the monofilm over time, but mainly its the fact that the sail has such a beautiful taut profile on the beach, every crinkle stands out. The 2022 sails are apparently a lot lighter, which I would probably go for because I think my 6.9 is overbuilt.

Guillermo wrote:

To stay comfortable in just about any condition, I use a combination of:

1. 6/5/4 hooded wetsuit;
2. 3/2 wetsuit;
3. 357 booties;
4. 2/3 mm booties;
5. NRS toaster mitts; and
6. Open palm mitts.