the facts are:
1- too expensive, also you need a car to carry all the stuff
2- lack of schools
3- hard to learn. People want things instantly
4- nearly no media coverage

Im from Chile, 38 years old, windsurfing for 25 years, and now after all these years we still the same riders. Anyways we like it unspoilt. Hey, check my web for info in chile www.windmaster.cl

What you guys say about kids, women and how unfriendly windsurfing is to anything else than the 'standard grown up male' person is just so true unfortunately.

I was a kid myself in the 70s when it all started, I fancied windsurfing and I tried... 10min. It immediately occured to me that an inherent discrimination existed because of the size of the gear. I simply could not handle it by myself. So I've had to swallow my 'dreams of freedom and independence' for so many years until lighter boards, rdm masts and booms became mainstream. In the meantime I've grown up obviously but, I still find it difficult to pick a board small enough (in the 60l range) from the mainstream manufacturers. Ironically, I have a buddy who is at the other end of the spectrum 100kg+ and he too finds it so difficult to pick a suitable board that he has recently decided to order a custom.

So, yes, I believe that one big reason why windsurfing is not so 'popular' could be because it is aimed at a very narrow bandwidth of the population.

i don't get the re-occupation with popularity, i like it now, it's better than 20 years ago, i sail for myself not to "be cool" and i don't have to complain about crowds like back in theday...

So I'll be honest here I haven't read all of the comments but I would like to put my view across.

I have been Windsurfing since I was 14 that's 17 years and have been involved in competitions, teaching it and coaching it. What I find is that Magazines are still flogging the same format, Boring! There's little or no media coverage, the cost of equipment that I once purchased brand new and sometimes a full quiver at a time is beyond my price range now. I have found that being an outsider to the sport was extremely hard to gain any kind of acceptance with in the many cliques that exist, unless you came from some kind of wealthy or sailing background.

Windsurfing has been infected with the slightly nerdy element that other sports such a Kitesurfing, Snowboarding, Skatebording, Surfing and so on Have managed to avoid. What I think we need is a counter culture within our sport of Hard Core, Couldn't give a F'#k!! Balls out Celebrities to grab the Kids of today's attention and say our sport is Cool!! These people should be celebrated. I look at the sport of Windsurfing these days and say Media coverage of our sport, Advertising of our sport hasn't change much over the last 17 years and I put that down to the fact everyone has grown up with the sport and forgot to cast of the drift wood and give it a fresh lift.

I used to love going Windsurfing and meeting new people watching them learn and laugh (sometimes) when it all went wrong, learning from each other and giving someone a big cheer when they finally pulled off a new move. Now there's no one.

In the 70's/80's the sport was new all you needed was a Board and a Sail, well that's all there was to it back then, you would wait until the summer and fill your days with sand castles, sunbathing and Sail Boarding and there lies a few reasons why now it's not as popular as it once was, it's not new any more, I'm sure that a households disposable income has shrunk considerably, do we all still go to the beach when it's sunny or is there a greater choice of things to do now, that Windsurfing has to compete with.

I will say this about our sport there are some really good youtube and vimeo videos out there check out www.winsurfmoves.com

I know this thread has been going for a few years now, it just saddens me that with all the other extreme sports I partake in windsurfing is the one that's suffering. I could go on for hours about my feelings on the sport. I'll still be out there doing something I love, I'll still be teaching my mates and although I no longer feel obliged to read the same boring crap that gets published every month, I will Windsurf for as long as my physical state allows.

I wonder If this will ever be read?

Aloha! Every moment on the water is precious use it wisely.

Standup has become very popular and growing. Why?
Easy to have fun right from the start.
Fast learning curve.
Can find a spot on almost any body of water.
Lots of fun in marginal conditions, even for seasoned surfers.

Kiting has become very popular and growing. Why?
Frustrated windsurfers have taken it up in large numbers.
Faster learning, more action in less wind, many more places to get on the water.
Windsurfing demands special conditions to be good.
Lots of time spent on the beach waiting for wind and or waves,
and getting skunked on vacation trips.
Windsurfers get in a rut and stop learning.
Windsurfing demands better physical conditioning.
Kiting places fewer demands on the body.
Kiting works better in surf that is very difficult for windsurf wave sailing.
Smaller kiteboard has advantages for radical moves in surf.
Kiters turns so much more easily and quickly and catch many more waves.

Windsurfing gear takes up so much space and cannot easily be taken on airlines,
which charge quite a lot to transport it.
Getting good on a windsurfer is much harder, as well as learning the initial steps.
WS industry fixation with the pros, pretty much kills the entry level interest,
And WS prices have doubled in recent years.
except in certain locations with very good conditions for an extended season,
places such as Maui, or Hood River or Bonaire.

I think a possible factor is TV coverage. Windsurfing is never on tv nowadays. I remember in the 90's Eurosport used to show some of the PWA and Sky sports had a dedicated section in 'Watersports world'. I think there was even a windsurfing tv program on ITV at one point. Nowadays theres nothing on tv - not even on the extreme sports channel, which I find weird.


Equipment cost is astronomical. I bought a nearly new motorbike last year at the same time as buying a new board and rig. Guess which cost more?!