For the beginning windsurfer, there are a number of milestones along the path of improvement. None of these steps are obligatory but their accomplishment means that you can windsurf longer, easier and in a broader range of conditions. It's no fun to be on the water struggling or the beach while your buds and budettes are having a good time.

After windsurfers start to become comfortable being out in planing strength winds and getting used to the harness, they begin to learn to put their feet into the footstraps. These same straps that seemed so illogically placed at the sinky tail of the board suddenly are now appearing underfoot. They've been told that footstraps are handy (footy?) things to use but, as soon as they pick up one foot or the other to put them into the straps, bad things seem to happen: catapaults, veering upwind, falling on the sail. While more experienced sailors will swear that they abhor the idea of planing without being in the straps, the newly-minted intermediate sees it oppositely. Footstraps seems to be the cause of problems, not a cure.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then maybe these videos at 24000 words per second (24frames per second x 1000) can help. All these videos are in English. Well, they're by English windsurfers. For some curious reason while Americans on youtube are asking friends to "hold my beer" or "watch this", the English are making quality tutorials. Oh, how the colonies have lost their way. But, we digress.

Get Windsurfing

Sam Ross

Jem Hall tunes the footstraps Freeride

Wave

More general tips from Sam Ross