Windsurfing UK Articles – Page 6

E – Egypt: windsurfing’s reliable flat water travel destination

Egypt, for many years, was a staple for many windsurfers looking for reliable winds, warm waters and good weather. In particular spots like Dahab, on the Sinai Peninsula, Hurghada, the harder to reach Soma Bay and wave spot of El Tur were big draws for many Euro’s in the off season. Apart from El Tur, which offers a second beach […]

C – cigarettes: big brand windsurfing support from tobacco companies

Back in the day, when windsurfing was still fledgeling, the health implication surrounding such things as cigarettes weren’t as widely promoted. These were days when smoking was still deemed cool and advertising standards not as stringent as today. Fag companies, as some refer to them, were big brand supporters of windsurfing which can be seen by some of the magazine […]

J – Josh Stone: windsurfing party animal, skilled wave sailor and inventor of modern freestyle

The ever colourful, possibly wild, and larger than life Josh Stone was the perfect candidate to take windsurfing to the next level via modern freestyle. An already skilled and formidable wave sailor, Maui based Stone invented the vulcan and soon after the spock. Nowadays these are standard and basic moves for anyone into the art of windsurfing freestyle, yet they remain […]

D – Defi Wind, Le Defi, France: windsurfing’s premier mass participation racing event

The Defi Wind event, or Le Defi as it’s more commonly known, is held each year at Gruissan Plage, Narbonne, France and has run for 18 years (as of 2019). A mass participation windsurfing race event it’s the biggest in the world of type with epic photos of hundreds of windsurfers tearing along the Occitaine Region’s coastline. A Le Mans […]

V – the vulcan: windsurfing’s first new school freestyle manoeuvre

Invented by the inimitable and colourful Maui based windsurfing legend Josh Stone the vulcan was the very first new school aerial freestyle move, and is the foundation for many of its follow on tricks, such as the spock. Essentially a vulcan is an upwind aerial with a mid-air sail transition. Landing backwards, switch stance, the rider then aims to slide […]

F – the forward loop: windsurfing’s most iconic and crowd pleasing manoeuvre

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a hardened pro or every day windsurfer the forward loop remains one of the most iconic and crowd pleasing moves you can pull. For anyone at their local going over the handle bars will earn you instant respect, mainly because all sailors appreciate the amount of will power needed to perform such a trick. Whilst […]

W – Weymouth, Dorset: the UK’s premier speed strip and event site

While other spots around the UK have gained popularity among speed sailors (West Kirby being one) it’s Dorset’s Weymouth that continues to attract large numbers of riders looking to test their mettle and go fast. The yearly Weymouth Speed Week, organised by Pete Davis, is held every autumn and sees a large turn out of enthusiasts, from near and far, […]

H – Ho’okipa, Maui, Hawaii: windsurfing’s wave sailing proving ground and Mecca

What can be said about the island of Maui and its windsurfing focal point, Ho’okipa, that’s not already been discussed? The epicentre and proving ground for any rider into wave sailing; the spot where each season brands descend en masse for company photo shoots; the spot where many a name has been forged as legend; a location that some sailors […]

B – Boards windsurfing magazine

Simply put: if there was no Boards windsurfing magazine there would be no Windsurfing UK. Laying the foundations of what a (mainly) UK focused windy mag should look like Boards took a slightly different approach to their presentation of the sport. For many years Bill Dawes edited the magazine and it was he at the helm when Boards started inviting […]

R – Robby Naish, legend of windsurfing, multiple times champion, cross discipline ocean athlete

Robert Staunton Naish – Robby Naish to you and I – is a true legend of windsurfing. Being involved from the early days as a young surfer who saw what windsurfing had to offer Robby went on to win multiple competitions, nail extraordinary windsufing feats, set up his own successful watersports brands and continue to push and evolve within a […]

Wing foiling apparel brand FLYTE launches in the UK.

Windsurfing UK News

Wing foiling apparel brand FLYTE launches in the UK with clothing products aimed wingsurfers of all skills levels. Sam from FLYTE got in touch to tell us more. ‘Being keen water people and recently taking to Wing Foiling we became hooked with the sport and became inspired to create something unique for the Global Foil community.’ ‘When we started building […]

Sroka wing foil gear test – Skyrider 5’5, 1350 HA L foil & 5m Wing V3.

Windsurfing UK Kit Tests

Sroka will probably be a new name for some but with Bruno Sroka at the helm (an ex-pro kiter and all round knowledge watersports bod) you can guarantee the equipment will be solid and high performance. Based in France Sroka sent us their Skyrider 5’5 wing foil board, their 5m Wing V3 and the 1350 HA Lift foil. Here’s what […]

Challenger Sails Ikaroz 5m wing review.

Windsurfing UK Kit Tests

Challenger Sails may be a new name for some wingfoilers. But Claudio Badiali’s Italian sail brand has been around for a while. Taking the PWA Slalom Windsurfing title in 2022, with pilot Maciek Rutkowski standing tall on the podium, Challenger Sails are held in high regard by many windsurfers. Challenger Sails Ikaroz wings are also gaining favour among the foiling […]

Foilshop UK’s: ‘how to become a wingsurfer’ – an in depth guide to real world wing foiling.

Wingsurf UK

Foilshop UK – our friends of all things foiling – have just published their ‘how to become a wing foiler’ article. As they say this is a post based on personal experience as well as extensive and multiple conversations with other real world wingers. Wing foiling is often billed as super easy. Especially if you have previous watersports experience. But […]

AK V1 Compact 105L wingsurf board test.

Windsurfing UK Kit Tests

Wingfoiling boards come in many shapes and sizes. Your level, style and local conditions will dictate what type of gear you plump for. Pics: Mike Pringuer. The AK V1 Compact 105L, for most intermediate level wingers, may just be your perfect partner – despite it being billed as freestyle specific. Competent performance freerider’s will also find favour with the 105L. […]

2022 Challenger Sails deals from Foilshop UK.

Windfoil UK

Whether foil or fin the Challenger Sails are championship winning (as was proved recently during the PWA slalom event where Maciek Rutkowski took the title). And now’s your chance to own a slice of that good stuff and bag a deal in the process. As it stands the UK’s pretty blowy with plenty of opportunity to get out sailing. There’s […]

Learning to windfoil, with Dave Ludgate.

Windfoil UK

Irish windsurfer Dave Ludgate has recently begun his windfoil journey. The man from Cork says it’s been on his radar for a while. But only recently has he had the chance to get stuck in. Whilst he’s learning Dave is also aiming to document his progress via a series of vlogs. These are warts and all stories from each session […]

Wingsurf and windfoil knowledge tips & tricks.

Windfoil UK

Whether learning or improving with either wingsurfing or windfoiling (perhaps both) there’s no accounting for knowledge. Particularly wing foiling, which for many riders is a completely new concept. Windfoiling calls on those windsurfing foundational building block skills riders have honed over many years. Wingsurfing is a completely different kettle of fish. But even windfoiling, once you start to levitate, becomes […]

Tahe Techno Wind Foil 6.3m sail test with Tom Pringuer.

Windfoil UK

Pics: Jonny Williams, Mike Pringuer. Words: WSUK, Tom Pringuer. Over the past few weeks we’ve been putting the Tahe Techno Wind Foil 6.3m windfoil specific sail through its paces. We’ve tested it in every kind of condition from super light wind (less than 10 knots) to more solid blows (up to 25 knots). To shed more light on the Tahe […]

Feathery unique – Nautix Windsurfing Freeride 5.2m windsurf sail test.

Windfoil UK

Words: Tez Plavenieks Pics: Tez Plavenieks, Oli Lane-Peirce Designed by the highly regarded Teiva Sails of France I’ve spent a considerable amount of time with the new Nautix Windsurfing Freeride 5.2m. A four batten, multi use windsurf sail this is a step up in terms of performance for long time brand Nautix. Being designed by Teiva Sails (who also produce […]