Have you ever thought of surfing through the roaring blue seas while playing with both the wind and water? Just imagine yourself surfing along the coastline while manoeuvring the winds as well. Windsurfing is an extreme water sports that combines the elements of surfing as well as sailing. This exhilarating sport has all the thrill and adventure to give you the adrenaline rush that you might be looking for. India has a vast coastline that is quite suitable for windsurfing. Although surfing started off quite late in the country, but India is now gaining ground as popular surfing destination.
What is windsurfing?
As I mentioned, windsurfing is a surface water sports that combine the elements of surfing and sailing. It consists of a board usually two to five meters long that is powered by the orthogonal effect of the wind on a sail. The board is attached to a rig by a universal joint that pivots freely; the rig is made up of the mast, mast base, boom and sail.
Windsurf can be said to be between both the laidback attitude of the surf sports and the more rule based environment of sailing. The windsurfer is steered by the tilting and swivelling action of the mast and sail and the cutting motion of the board. Thus the control of the surfboard depends both on the conditions as well as the surfer’s mastery over wind and water! Windsurfing is thus a much more extreme sports than sailing and the surfer has to have a great level of fitness and agility. Just imagine what a windsurfer can do with it. They can perform jumps, inverted loops, manoeuvre spins and other freestyle moves. The windsurfers were the first to ride world’s largest waves.
Windsurfing usually has a steep learning curve when compared to other extreme adventure sports. Those willing to learn the sports must gain basic skills of sailing, steering and turning. Developing their balance and core stability is also required. Thankfully, there are a number of windsurfing schools that provides training and practice for the sports.
Windsurfing in India
India has a massive coastline and also has some of the best locations to learn this extreme sports. Since windsurfing is such a sports where you have to manoeuvre both the water and wind, the wind condition is vital for it. Thankfully, the coast of India receives stable and strong winds almost 9 months a year; thus providing quite a long season to windsurf.
Best places to windsurf in India
Goa is the adventure hub of the nation; so naturally windsurfing is practiced here with elan. Calangute Beach, Arossim beach, Baga Beach, Bogmalo Beach and Dona Paula Beach are a few places where you can enjoy windsurfing.
Lakshadweep island in the Arabian sea are blessed with some of the world’s best reef breaks. With clear blue waters, this place has a lot of scope for surfing. The most popular sites for water sports in the Lakshadweep Islands are Bangaram (the only island accessible to foreigners) and Kadmat.
Tamil Nadu has a windsurf school located at Kathadi near Rameswaram. The channel between India & Sri Lanka is dotted with islands, lagoons & surf spots. Here the wind conditions are quite favourable for windsurfing. Quest Asia provides windsurfing training here.
The Mandwa Jetty at our own Mumbai also has windsurfing training facilities. Aquasail 360' Sailing provides windsurfing private beginner course at Mandwa. They provide training at Goa as well. Apart from this, the Mumbai Sailing Club also offers courses for learning windsurfing.
Kovalam is one of the most tourist friendly beaches. It draws a large number of visiters including surfers. Since Kovalam is tucked close to the tip of southern India, it gets some big swells that are required for surfing. The Kovalam Surf Club can help you with windsurfing. The locals know of a few great surfing spots around Kovalam, but they are not for the faint-hearted.
Best season to windsurf in India:
October to April is usually the best months to windsurf along the coastline of India.
Just remember, windsurfing is an extreme water sports. Choose your operator/outfit who observes stringent safety standards. Before setting out, check and recheck your gears. Make sure you’re familiar with the international distress signals. Don’t set out in an offshore breeze! Happy surfing!
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