Hey Guys,

So been checking out the site now for a little while, just moved to Chicago from San Francisco (Dont give me to much grief it was for work).

But I was really hoping I could get some information from you.

1) Where are the nearest places to down town chicago to go wind surfing?
2) Where are the best places to go wind surfing?
3) Does anyone know where I can take lessons? I have 0 experience, but this looks super cool and I need to get out of the house more.

Thanks for reading look forward to your responses.

-Peter

Welcome to Chicago, Peter!

Reid F. has done a great job on this website of listing all of the Chicago-area launches. Just go to "Launches" at the top of the Windsurf Illinois page. I do most of my sailing up in Evanston, but my guess is that as a newbie you'll probably be looking at Montrose Beach, 63rd, or Rainbow Beach. I'm sure other folks on this forum can give you more specific advice about these locations. Of course, water and wind conditions will also come into play. As you'll see, conditions on Lake Michigan can change considerably! So for beginner's lessons, you'll probably want to go out on days that the water is flatter and the wind is not directly off shore.

As for lessons, Northwestern Sailing has a good program that has been around for a while, with nice gear. But I believe that they are done giving lessons for the season. If you're looking for 1-1 instruction, Bob Bechstein up in Evanston is a certified instructor and a great guy, and I'm sure that there are others on this forum who might be willing to give lessons.. If you want Bob's info, just send me a private message and I'll be happy to pass it along.

I hope you enjoy your new digs here!