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Hawaii Windsurfing & Kitesurfing
Windsurfing... Sailing & Surfing When my wife, Dawn, and I started windsurfing back in the eighties, little did I know that it would become my biggest passion for over ten years! At that time, the “crowd” of windsurfers on a windy day at our home spot in Kailua made it difficult to find a spot in the launch area to lay down your rig. The Hawaii windsurfing scene was one of mild chaos with experienced sailors zipping in and out amidst a constant herd of beginners struggling to pull their sails out of the water then falling over backwards as the sail came up.
Yet, despite the diminished windsurfing activity here on Oahu, there couldn't be a better time to pick up the sport!
The level of equipment available to windsurfers now, whether they’re rank beginners or hardcore experts, is like night and day when compared to what we used a few short years ago!
Learn How To Windsurf Beginner rigs are stable and enable a much quicker learning curve while the “high-tech” rigs offer the utmost in lightness, speed, and sailing efficiency to turn harder, jump higher, and increase the number of flips or rotations!
Hawaii Windsurfing Locations: Kailua Beach, , on Oahu, is often considered the home of Hawaii windsurfing... or the world for that matter, due in large to one of its most famous residents, one Robby Naish, the biggest name in windsurfing bar none! As a kid, Robby took to the cumbersome rigs of the day and pushed the level of performance to where it eventually attracted scores of others fascinated by the speed and exhilaration of the then “new” sport. The whole Naish family became immersed in windsurfing--putting out cutting edge boards and sails and then, when kitesurfing began to take hold, augmented their expertise and inventory to cater to the growing fans of kitesurfing, too. For all and out wavesailing on Oahu, it’s Diamond Head beach where the strong tradewinds blow sideshore (parallel to the shore) and the waves are perfectly suited to long and exciting rides. When venturing out at Diamond Head, be sure to observe where other sailors are going to avoid shallow areas and areas where board surfers are clustered. I’ve been witness to a “thinks-he’s-great” windsurfer jumping a wave only to land amidst a bunch of understandably angry board surfers in the lineup! Around the corner from Diamond Head, in the ritzy neighborhood of Kahala, is Kahala Beach Park which offers some very decent wavesailing with a fraction to none of the crowd you’d experience at Diamond Head. Going in and out at Kahala, though, can be a bit tricky especially at low tide. Be sure you know where the channels and shallows are before venturing out. If not, don’t hesitate to move on to another beach. Remember, for windsurfing and kitesurfing, sideshore winds are best for performance, onshore winds are the safest, and offshore winds can easily blow you out to sea! Visit our Hawaii Beach Safety Tips" page for a quick overview of these factors and be sure to consult with Hawaii windsurfing and kitesurfing shop operators to determine where you’d have the most fun! If you're looking to learn to windsurf or kitesurf there are many options. One I'd highly recommend is Endless Adventures Hawaii. They offer lessons in windsurfing and kitesurfing, as well as SUP (stand-up paddling) lessons and tours, and surfing lessons!
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As it is for wind surfing, Kailua is a great place to pursue kitesurfing and, on every island, you’ll find decent to great windsurfing as well as kitesurfing. Most important is to know your wind directions, wave conditions, and bottom contours (reefs and depths).
