Getting started

These are some of the common misconceptions held up as ‘daunting’ reasons why potential newcomers to the sport never go any further than thinking it might be a cool pastime reflects Amanda Van Santen, RYA Chief Instructor, Dinghy and Windsurfing.

There are arguably more routes than ever before into taking those first tentative steps on to a board, yet the common reasons not to remain all too well-worn.

Amanda and Gillian Wright, RYA National Windsurfing Development Officer, make it their raison d’être to explain to the population at large –adults and kids – why these ‘reasons’ are nothing more than myths.

Here Amanda and Gillian provide their top tips on getting started in the sport.

At the very earliest point of thinking you may like to learn to windsurf, have a look at the Where’s My Nearest section of the RYA website. You may have already decided that there can’t possibly be anywhere local to you cater for windsurfing as you live in the middle of the country or the middle of nowhere. But there are some 250 RYA Training Centres running windsurfing courses in Britain and overseas so chances are you actually won’t have to travel too far at all. The RYA Start Windsurfing course is for adults and Windsurfing Stage 1 is for juniors.

Amanda Van Santen

Not at the start anyway. RYA Training Centres can provide you with all the kit and equipment you need including a wetsuit. The only things you may need are something for your feet and your own swimsuit. A common mistake is newcomers buy equipment that’s not appropriate for them, either too big and they progress off of very quickly, or too advanced, which hampers progression. We recommend not even thinking about investing in your own equipment until you reach Intermediate course level.

The language specific to windsurfing can be baffling and off-putting to an outsider. A key part of our Instructor training is they are taught to keep language simple so people can understand it, the same language is then as you continue to progress throughout the whole scheme.

We try to get people on to the water as soon as possible. There is a bit of simulated activity on shore to start with but one of the great things about windsurfing is pretty much everyone can go in a straight line by the end of session one. Windsurfing is about technique, which is why size, age, gender etc. don’t matter and you can improve pretty quickly. At the end of a two-day course people generally can get up and move on the board, sail across the wind, downwind, upwind, tack, gybe and understand how to put the kit together. Seeing quick improvements is really motivating for people to keep on wanting to get better.

NWF, the perfect place to catch up with other windsurfers.

Like with any sport the more you do it the better you will get more quickly. Most RYA training centres and windsurfing clubs have a ‘pay and play’ facility to hire kit and get out on the water. Many centres offer ‘pay and play’ discounts for students on their training courses, to encourage them to practice, while others are aligned with windsurfing clubs where people can get discounted hire. When practicing new techniques, stay in a comfortable Force 1-3. People don’t realise how much conditions can affect ability to learn.

Gillian Wright – Team15 champs cup 2011

Windsurfing is a massively social sport, even right from the start. There is a lot more fun to have if there are a few of you, so you can learn and progress together. People of all ages are much more likely to continue with a sport if they have an emotional and social attachment with it. Hook up with like-minded people in your area.  Find a club or group via the RYA (www.rya.org.uk) or Project Windsurf-UK (www.projectwindsurfuk.org.uk) websites or if you’re 15 or under look for your nearest Team15 club. This is one front on which Team15 has been so successful; the emphasis is on being part of a club with your mates.

When the time comes to buy your own kit and equipment make sure you get the right stuff you need for you to be comfortable on the water. Learning can be made easy by taking RYA courses, either locally or on holiday overseas, where all the equipment is provided and suitable for your level. When you’re progressing the kit you can hire will be appropriate to your standard, and change as you progress. But get it wrong when buying your own and you could stop yourself wanting to go! Start with a good fitting wetsuit and buoyancy aid; if you are warm and comfortable then you will want to go more. Buying your own board and sail will help you get out more often. Get good advice before you invest depending on budget.

Take time to think about your options with windsurfing equipment.

Learn how to put your board on your roof rack securely. It’s quite simple, but only if you know how. If you don’t have a car, can’t drive or don’t have sufficient storage, don’t stop let that stop you buying your own kit. Some clubs and centres offer storage for a small fee.

A badly rigged sail can hinder progress. If you buy from a centre or shop, they will show you how. If you buy second-hand ask the seller or a more experienced windsurfer to show you. Someone in your windsurfing group can help you.

Do I need to say more!

Find out more about RYA Windsurfing training courses at www.rya.org.uk

Windsurfing at NWF

Love to Windsurf?  Then why not join the association that supports you?

Join the RYA today and benefit from:

• Free third party insurance
• Representing your interests and defending your rights of navigation
• Personal advice and information on a wide range of windsurfing related topics
• Free sail numbers for Gold Members
• Legal advice on buying, selling and other windsurfing related matters
• The latest news delivered to your door or inbox by RYA magazine and e-newsletters
• Boat show privileges including free access to the exclusive RYA member’s lounge
• Discounts on a wide range of products and services

Get more from your boarding; support the RYA

Want to know more?  Call 0844 556 9556 or email member.services@rya.org.uk or join online at www.rya.org.uk/go/join

New to windsurfing? Find out more about getting into the sport in the Basics section here. 

Amanda

Amanda has been quietly working away, and living the dream, as Chief Windsurfing instructor at the RYA for several years now and has met with a great deal of success. So much so, that she was recently promoted to Chief Instructor not only for windsurfing, but also dinghy sailing and keelboats.

It all sounds rather grand, but what does it actually mean? We caught up with her to find out, not only what her job entails, but also what got her into the sport and also what still excites her about it.

How did you first get into windsurfing and what was it that got you involved in the sport in the first place?

I got into windsurfing quite late; I was 20. I had always been an avid water person. I started competitive swimming at the age of 6 and was always labelled a water baby as a kid! We always took family holidays down to Penzance and my brother and I spent all our time in the water, at school I always opted for the watersports activity holidays to France.

When leaving school I wanted to do something different, I had always been a youth volunteer and wanted to continue giving something back. I remembered my swimming coach and my instructors out in France, and wanted to be like them. I convinced my parents to let me go down to Cornwall to learn to Sail, Windsurf and Surf. I hated windsurfing at first, just concentrating on Surfing and Sailing, and then on a trip to Maui with Tom Buggy (my husband) and lots of his friends, I got bitten by the bug!

Amanda on the water

You have been running the windsurfing scheme at the RYA for eight years and the national sailing scheme for about two now. What does the job entail and what are the best and worst bits of the job?

My main role is to administer, develop and promote the RYA Windsurfing and Dinghy scheme in order to maximise participation in the sport and maintain high standards of training and safety, UK and overseas.

If I just stick to telling you about the windsurfing side of my role – my job concentrates on everything from grassroots to the coaching of advanced recreational windsurfers, instructor training, appointment of windsurfing trainers and the inspection and recognition of RYA training centres in the UK and Overseas – basically everything non-Olympic pathway.

We currently have over 3100 windsurfing instructors and 85 appointed trainers.

I also spend time liaising with the magazines and equipment importers to help jointly promote the sport through articles, conferences etc.

Sometimes I wake up and think I have THE best job in the world; this is when my job takes me all over the UK and overseas meeting new instructors and seeing our training centres doing an amazing job. The people at the RYA are great too, so office work is often very entertaining. There are some amazingly passionate people here.

Amanda in Maui

Then there’s the politics, that’s when my job really gets to me, but every industry has it I guess. We just need to remember we get to escape onto the water and do the most amazing sport in the world to rationalise everything.

What changes have you made since joining the RYA that you are most pleased with?

Since joining, with help from many windsurfing trainers and Simon Bornhoft we have completely changed the scheme and rewritten all the windsurfing publications, of which many are now being translated into a whole range of languages, including Danish and Dutch– that’s pretty cool!

Due to the scheme being a little more accessible, we have also now seen an increase in the number of people both taking courses at our recognised training centres and becoming instructors.

How do you plan to develop the RYA’s windsurfing training over the next few years?

I think in the current climate we need to concentrate on what we have rather than change to much. I have been working with the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, so  I am looking forward to spending time growing our work together, as well as taking a look at our youth schemes and how we can get kids inspired about such amazing sports.

What’s your favourite discipline of windsurfing?

I love being in bump and jump and wave conditions, it’s really testing and always changing. You learn so much, plus I’ve never been much of a sail twiddler, but flat water can be great fun too, I do like to see how fast I can go in a straight line and while working in Minorca loved taking Formula kit out with big sails!

Amanda in action

What would be a perfect day’s windsurfing for you? Location, conditions people to be out with…..

I live on the Isle of Wight, so I’m really biased to the amazing sailing locations we have. A perfect day for me would be a force 5/6, cross-shore day with the waves lining up all the way to the horizon, at somewhere like Niton or Brook  – shared with a few good friends, I’m smiling like a Cheshire cat just thinking about it! Failing that, an unspoilt day in Maui with Tom and our little boy Blake would do nicely; I love the place.

As well as Amanda working tirelessly to develop and maintain the high training standards set by the RYA, her colleague Gillian Wright, RYA National Windsurfing Development Officer continues to work out ways to encourage more people in to the sport and participate on a regular basis, developing the Team15 programme that she was instrumental in setting up some 12 years ago and Project Windsurf-UK, created 18 months ago.

Find out more as Gillian talks Team15 and adult participation and explains how things have changed since she joined the RYA some 22 years ago.

For more information about the RYA visit the website at: www.rya.org.uk.

As we get deeper into winter and the nights draw in, unless you work night shifts, Mr ‘after work sailing’ has left us for another year!

I was therefore intrigued to find out what other fellow sailors did to keep themselves fit and healthy through the winter month…….how many of us actually do keep sailing (!?), what do people get up to on those ‘less enticing’ days!!

Get kitted up!

Many a dog walker has greeted me with strange looks as I get changed at the back of a van on a cold blustery windy day – I’m sure they must think we belong to some strange sect! But those of you who have braved those days, will agree, we often get blessed with some of the year’s best sailing!

But what if the weather really isn’t playing ball, when it really is just too cold to brave getting frost bite whilst getting changed behind the trusty van, or you best winter ‘get up’, just isn’t enough…….are there such days……….? I caught up with fellow RYA Windsurfing Coaches Jon Metcalfe, (The Army’s Windsurfing manager – a job in which you really can’t be seen to be a sissy!!) and Sam Ross (RYA OB Officer and Freelance Coach) to tell me what they will be up to this winter.

Windsupping; less windchill and you stay drier!

Jon is an all winter sailor, with some great tops tips …….”put as much rubber on as possible, buy yourself a decent single lined winter suit, use mitts not gloves to avoid the cramp, a decent balaclava, split toe boots all the way and don’t live in a mobile home during winter, it tends to lead to colds and flu!!”

Getting back to the serious side, when sailing is just not on the cards Jon’s ‘next best’ alternative suggestion is mountain biking or building a house………whereas Sam ‘no pain, no gain’ Ross, the ‘you can always get out’ optimistic chap, gets on the water as much as he can during the winter months, equipping himself, like Jon, with key clothing such as palm less mits and a hood.

Sam Ross demonstrating a new move on one of those glorious winter days!

With house building not really on Sam’s agenda right now, he spends winter days SUP’ing, as well as something we may not have all considered – Local Racing. “When you are exercising it’s not much different in temperature than going for a run ………..unless you fall in! I don’t just wait for the epic days to get out on the water, big sail weather is great during the winter. The wind-chill is a lot less and you are working hard blasting up and down with less likelihood of falling in” explained Sam.

“I tend to find it’s sweat in the wetsuit rather than cold water…… (Nice! Thanks for that Sam!), so bizarrely I tend to find it’s the lighter wind summer alternatives that make sure I stay active during the winter and don’t dry out.”

Supping gets you on the water rather than in it

But if winter really isn’t your bag, make sure you don’t lose that windsurfing fitness or next years ‘come back’ will just be that little harder!! So for those of you snuggling up to a warm fire this winter, here’s a few health tips from Bonnie at BFit (bonnie@alphaplusuk.com) to help ensure that first dip in 2013 is a good one………

Don’t let winter be a time to hibernate, resulting in your wetsuit feeling a little tighter when you wiggle back in to it and your first time back on the board a struggle. Take the opportunity to work on a different side of your fitness that otherwise gets pushed to the side, as let’s face it time on the water will always come first!

Cross training is a great way to keep in good condition but also rest repetitively used muscles potentially preventing injury. So shake it up a bit and challenge your body to new fitness heights enabling you to spend longer on the water.

Go get muddy in the woods either a mountain bike or with a refreshing runs through the woods utilising a wide range of muscle groups as you duck under branches, hop over tree stumps and leap over puddles.

But what if the British weather really does force us indoors……….. spinning, a challenging cardio or endurance session are all good alternatives, giving a good body workout, getting the heart pumping and burning plenty of calories! Always try and balance it all out with a mixture of core strengthening, posture improving, back strengthening and overall body balancing workout in the form of Pilates.

The centre of the body below your bottom ribs and above your pubic bone is called your ‘powerhouse’ consisting of the abdominals, pelvic floor, muscles around the hip joint and through the lower back. Pilates looks to strengthen these muscles which in turn protects against potential injuries. Pilates will also develop and maintain flexibility and mobility through the joints all which are priceless when jumping back on your board.

And for my favourite part……….food!! Bonnie’s advice is to enjoy nutritious stews and soups full of vegetables containing vitamins and minerals needed to keep energy levels up and the immune system on top form. Instead of filling a casserole pot full to the brim with red meat plump it out with puy lentils which are low GI and provides slow burning carbohydrates for sustained energy as well as a good punch of protein and fibre.

So is 2012/13 going to be the year you brave a full winter on the water……..? Remember there are lots of us out there! If you need a little extra encouragement, make your winter even more enticing by joining a club and meeting lots of like-minded people, taking part in some local racing or perhaps taking a few sneaky coaching tips at by nearest training centre. Details of all of these can be found by visiting ‘Find my nearest’ at www.rya.org.uk

You might also like to read:

Boards Wetsuit Guides. 

In October 2011, my husband, Tom Buggy, and I found out we were expecting our first child, very exciting, but pretty daunting too!

Windsurfing has, and will continue to be, a large part of my life. We have both always relished in the fact that we have managed to work in the industry we love, as well as live in a place that gives us the lifestyle and freedom that enables us to get on the water at great locations, which are only a stone’s throw away, so being able to share this with our own family was an exciting thought.

Amanda windsurfing in Maui

However, to someone that has an addiction (only slight!!) to exercise, and gets withdrawal symptoms if she can’t get on the water as much as possible, it was important for me to keep fit and healthy while pregnant, hopefully ensuring a healthy pregnancy, baby and quick return to the water!

While pregnant I found little ‘sound’ advice about what I could and couldn’t do. Now, I am no doctor, just a mum with a healthy eight week old baby boy, currently feeding like a demon in his Granddad’s arms. So I would like to share this information with others as I truly believe it has made a big difference to both Blake (our son) and myself, pre and post birth.

I windsurfed up until about four months, but then we were plagued by a long spell of no wind and so I thought it was best to hang up my harness. This is when I turned to other sports I thought would complement windsurfing to ensure a quick return!

Anyone who has been pregnant will know that the first few months can be pretty tiring, but also thereafter, in the later stages, you can be limited as to what you can do as your bump grows, so general fitness is key! During the nine months I committed to a complete variety of exercise, and chucked in a few challenges along the way.

Wetsuit and baby bump

Being on the water was essential, so I SUP’d as often as possible – much to the amusement of most others in the water, as pregnant women do look fairly amusing in wetsuits!! I really believe this helped me both mentally and physically, helping with my core stability and giving me my much needed dose of water time.

For general fitness, I managed to keep mountain biking and running until I was about seven months and even took part in the Wiggle New Forest MTB event. It was goals similar to the Wiggle event that kept me motivated and stopped me coming home from work and sitting on the sofa for the evening. I restricted running to the gym later in pregnancy to ensure I wasn’t being too harsh on my body’s ability to carry the baby, and when I couldn’t get out on my bike, I amused my spinning class by turning up right up until his birth – the space between me and the other people in my class slowly got bigger as they were convinced I would, rather amusingly, give birth during a spinning class!

As a keen swimmer, I knew this was a sport I could do and truly relax when I really I didn’t fancy doing anything else. It’s also a great sport to do while pregnant, due to its gentle effects on the body, and when you get a little heavier it really is nice to just float! Mixed in with Pilates, and some key exercises, these are both sports I continued to do until about three days before Blake was born, it was only the painting of our new house that prevented me from continuing!!

To help ensure my body was dealing with the change well, ensure my posture remained good and as the weight I was carrying developed, I visited a McTimoney Chiropractor. This made a huge difference during pregnancy, the birth, but also afterwards.

Now eight weeks after our son Blake Koa’s birth, I am fully signed off by the doctor and back swimming, the road bike is up and running, the Pilates is helping tone my core (check out one of my Pilates instructors core toning exercises, kindly shared below) and I hope to be on the water for a gentle windsurf on the next decent forecast.

Amanda on right - Wiggle New Forest MTB event

With a picture of Robbie Nash hanging above his changing mat and the water training already underway in the bath, his dad has him in the pipeline to be the next windsurfing champion!

I strongly believe our healthy son and my feeling now has everything to do with the healthy diet and exercise I managed to keep up.

Postnatal core toning exercises from ‘Bonnie Williams – B Fit’

After giving birth exercise may be the last thing on your mind, however your body will now be swiftly adapting itself preparing to tackle the new challenges of bringing up a new born.

A gentle postnatal Pilates routine is a fantastic choice to help your body tackle the new challenges that lie ahead. A Pilates programme will gradually build up the body, strengthening and toning the muscles that have been weakened and any postural problems that may have developed through the pregnancy. Pilates exercises will help to rehabilitate your pelvic floor, realign the spine and gently strengthen the abdominals aiding in the relief of back pain and the recovery of rectus diastasis. The focus and concentration required within Pilates will offer a stress relief that often accompanies the demands of motherhood.

Baby Blake - eat - sleep - windsurf

A fantastic exercise to start doing straight away is your pelvic floor exercises; the exercise tightens and relaxes the muscles encouraging blood flow to the area which helps the process of healing as well as gaining back control over the muscles after birth.

Imagining your pelvic floor is like a lift in a building, stand or sit up tall, breathing full and wide into your back and sides. As you breath out draw up the muscles taking them to the first floor in the building, breath in and release back, breath out pull up to the second floor, breath in release, breath out come up to the third floor, breath in release, breath out take the lift all the way up to the pent house, breath in and release. Do the exercise frequently wherever you are, in batches of six.

Find out more about the RYA and what they can offer you at http://www.rya.org.uk