You?  Well, let’s start with your height, weight, aptitude, attitude, and ability:  what your skill level is now and, more important, what you intend it to be in the future.  It’s also about your interests:  the type of windsurfing you aspire to.  Do you want to muddle around your light-wind puddle, win triangle races, go fast and crash, carve gybes, or become a surf-smurf?  These are all important considerations when making your choices.

Choices?  Well, let’s start with board flotation, size, and type.  There’s also sail size and type.  Quantity is a choice, too:  how many boards and how many sails.  Immediately after the quantity choice is the all important how-much-to-spend choice.  Needless to say, you’ll make different choices if you’re affluent than if you aren’t.  Because most of us aren’t, this book assumes you intend to spend the least amount of money for the greatest amount of fun—in other words, buying smart.

Another choice is sailing area and conditions.  Usually, however, this choice has already been made for you.  If you live in Calm Pond, Kansas, you have different conditions, and need different equipment, than if you live in Windsahowlin, Washington.  But if you live near an ocean or Great Lake, you have several choices:  flat water sailing on rivers, lakes, and lagoons or open ocean (Great Lake) sailing on swells, waves, and—the consummate board and body bashing condition—surf.  (Keep in mind, though, if you don’t like your local windsurfing conditions, you can make the ultimate choice—to move.  Don’t laugh: more people than you think, including me, have made this choice.)  Because all windsurfing equipment isn’t suitable for all windsurfing conditions, you should first decide what conditions you intend to sail in, then accumulate your toys accordingly.

And there’s the final choice of what to wear:  wetsuit, drysuit, boots, booties, harness, helmet. . . .  Be very aware that your choice of attire is as important as your choice of equipment; your health and safety, not to mention your comfort, depend on it.

Before we start, realize that this book contains no test results, scientific data, or techno-blather.  What you are about to read are my personal opinions, which are based on what works for me and the people in my schools.  Keep in mind, though, that opinions are just that:  opinions.  Everyone has them, and, like all opinions, some agree and some disagree.  Don’t take what you read here as chiseled in stone; speak with other sailors in your area who are, ideally, the same size and gender, and proficient in the skills you desire.  Also, there will be equipment developments made after this book is published—find out about them.  However, if other people’s opinions just mentally muddy your waters, then do take what you read here as chiseled in stone.