Windsurfing history encyclopedia – Page 2

N – Nik Baker: x6 World Indoor Windsurfing Champion, Aloha Classic winner and one of Britain’s best windsurfing talents

In 1990 indoor windsurfing was born with the Palais Omnisports de Paris – Bercy making its spectacular debut. It was during this first indoor event that Britain’s Nik Baker, from the south coast, flourished and went on to add a whopping x6 Indoor World Championships to his name. Nik’s no slouch in the actual ocean either and following a long […]

O – Olympic debut for windsurfing during 1984; Stephan van den Berg takes gold

Windsurfing made its debut during the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. As a new sport anticipation was high but it was ultimately Stephan van den Berg who took the gold. Stephan then went on to also win the 1988 Olympics which took place in Seoul, South Korea. Competing in the LA Games against Stephan was the UK’s Dave Hackford who eventually ended […]

G – GPSspeedsurfing.com launches in 2008

When GPSspeedsurfing.com launched in 2008 this provided a virtual leaderboard and space for windsurfers addicted to breaking sound barriers to pit their wits and compete against fellow speed enthusiasts on a global scale. With cooperation from the ISWC and PKRA it was also an online platform for other craft to also get involved and compare just which water born sled is the […]

G – Goita: new school wave sailing manoeuvre

The goita, which crossed over from waves to flat water via the ponch (invented by Maui based Kevin Ponchitera), is a new school wave move that sees riders hit the lip before throwing the sail to windward and towards the tail. This causes the rider and board to rotate over the rig in 360 fashion and ideally land back on […]

Z – Zakynthos (Zante), Greece: lesser known Greek windsurfing holiday destination

Although the Peligoni Club is based on Zakynthos it’s not a Greek island widely popular with windsurfing crowds. Yet on it’s day the region’s Meltemi can kick in and blow up to planing speeds that’ll see most windsurfers blasting back and forth happily. Zante, as the island’s more commonly referred to, is a hotspot for Brits abroad style holidays, with […]

X – F2 Xantos: classic freeride design from long time windsurfing brand

F2’s Xantos has appeared in a few different guises, yet it’s always been a board about easy freeride. Utilising an egg shaped design, with the majority of volume towards the rear of the board underfoot, it was aimed at the freeride market and described as an easy blaster with decent speed and user friendly. Probably the most recognisable Xantos was […]

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 […]

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 […]