Last week Boards looked at why teaching a friend or two to windsurf is a brilliant idea (if you haven’t already seen it check out the full feature here) now we take a look at the best options if you’d prefer a little professional help.

Once you’ve tempted your mates onto the water, and even given them a quick lesson or two it is definitely a good idea to get them to go along to a proper lesson. Whilst learning our sport maybe a lot easier now, as we all know you want to learn to do it right, if you pick up bad habits from the start it will hinder you as you go forward.

Top 5 reasons to get professional lessons:

1. Safety. There will be rescue cover, first aiders on stand by and instructors fully versed in the starburst effect. The last thing you want to do is put off an eager new windsurfer by a near disastrous time on the water.

2. Equipment. Your friend will learn on super light, beginner specific equipment that won’t break their back.

3. Your sanity. So you’ve got your mate enthused and ready to hit the waves, but they’re not quite getting there with the technique. Avoid the continuous arguments and angry words by allowing a paid instructor to take their abuse when they can’t do it; this leaves you to watch from the shore, video the comedy crashes and laugh your head off at your mates expense.

4. Proper technique. Whilst we can all get a mate on a board and get them going, it’s only really instructors that know all those little tips and cheesy catchphrases that will get a new windsurfer performing the correct technique.

5. Friends. Windsurf Friends. Instead of learning on their own, get your mate into a group lesson and they will be surrounded by others of the same level. This will not only speed up the learning process, but allow them to make new windsurf friends at their level, and hopefully get them more hooked on the sport!

Where to learn? 

The RYA has a full and searchable database of all registered windsurfing schools here. Simply click and search to find your nearest.

Boards recommends

Looking for a kick ass school to take your friend along to? Here’s our top picks of UK windsurfing schools:

Bray Lake Watersports – run beginner windsurfing lessons close to London.

Wet N Dry Boardsports – run beginner windsurfing lessons in Essex.

UKSA – Can teach take you from novice, right up to instructor!

Lagoon Watersports – run a whole range of windsurfing lessons in Hove, Brighton. (NB they even taught Peter Andre as you can see from the pic above!)

Plas Menai – run a whole range of windsurfing lessons in North Wales.

And here’s our recommended retailers offering equipment hire and fantastic packages for beginners. 

Quayside Windsurfers – Offer a great  package for beginner windsurfers.

Robin Hood Watersports – Run the ‘borrow a board’ scheme so you can teach your friends in West Yorkshire.

Boardwise – Have fantastic deals of beginner equipment.

Puravida Boardriders – Hire out a beginners windsurf package for £30 in South Wales.

4Boards – Sell new and used windsurfing equipment.

Surfladle – sell a whole range of windsurfing equipment.

24-7 Boardsports – sell a whole range of windsurfing equipment.

LAR Watersports – offer beginner windsurf hire and sell a range of equipment in Bognor Regis, Sussex.