I’ll live in Zurich from June 2007 till .... I don’t know. I’d like to practice windsurf in one of the lakes, but I don’t have too much information about that. Could anyone tell me which are the best spot and the best club to rent the equipment near Zurich?
Thank you very much.
I spend a lot of time diving, and they have an office right next to the dive site - they offer all sorts of water sports.
[Disclaimer: I have verified that the above link is correct, though forum users should always exercise caution when clicking on external links, lest they lead to unsavory websites and result in getting you fired]
If you are a seasoned windsurfer then you have come to the wrong place!!!
There can occasionally be some okish conditions here in Switzerland but rarely anything epic. The nearest place to rent to Zurich would probably Urnersee www.windsurfing-urnersee.ch but the guy there is a complete a$$hole, we went there to rent a few years go and he made it seem like he was doing us a favor to rent us gear! Conditions on the lake can get some thermic at this time of year if your lucky maybe a force 4. If there is bad weather on the south side of the alps and good weather on the north side then you get a wind called Föhn in the lakes around Urnersee, this wind can get quite strong up to force 8, but is unbelievably gusty.
Silvaplana is another potential windsurf location http://www.surfclub-silvaplana.ch/ it is a really cool place to windsurf at 1800m up in the alps, right next to St. Moritz. The scenery is amazing and the wind can be ok, there is a school and a rental center here also. Due to the altitude the air is a little thinner so the power of the wind is reduced by about 1 force. Personally I prefer it here to Urnersee.
There is also a rental center in Betlis near Weesen on Walensee, I don't know much about it but the area looks really nice.
Other lakes of interest are,
Neunebergersee for Bise and Southwest wind, can be quite good fun. Murtensee, www.bisenoire.ch again there is a school and rental centre here.
Bodensee (Berlingen), good in southwest wind, (only 1 hour from zurich) there is a shop and rental place there called boarder house if you google them you will find contact details.
Lake Como, Italy, Can get thermic this time of year, and a wind called NordFöhn when the weather is bad on the north side of the alps and good on the south side. There are rental centers in Domaso and Collico.
If you need anymore info about windsurfing in Switzerland just get in touch. Good conditions are very infrequent and usually there is no rental place nearby so it is usually better to have your own gear.
My tip is weekends in Silvaplana, but be prepared to do some biking or something else also.
I am a “beginner” windsurfer; I have two boards here in Spain (smallest 125 l ). Of course Spain is a better place to make windsurf (I live 1 km from the beach) but there is no snow for sky/snowboard.
Thank you again for the info and the links and.....good wind!!!!!.
Hope to see you in the water .
I used to do a lot of yacht sailing when I lived in England and have been trying to decide which waterbased sport to take up here.....a friend of mine suggested "formula windsurfing" should work well here even in low winds.....what do people think....or dou you think a superfast dingy is a better bet (but will have storage problems...)
Would be a total beginner on a windsurfer....am a good sailor...do you think I should get lessons (would need to be in English)....or should I just get out there and exhaust myself until I get the hang of it?
Cheers
In my opinion (In the past I have raced both boats and windsurfers) in terms of racing, formula windsurfing and a high performance boat will offer similar challenges. Technically Formula windsurfing will be a touch more difficult then Sailing especially since you already know how to sail and have yet to learn how to windsurf. But once you get to a certain level the tactics etc will be exactly the same.
I suspect however that if you learn to windsurf you may prefer to get involved in other aspects of the sport other then Formula windsurfing. Here in Switzerland they have a series of Races (not sure how many) for Formula windsurfing but I don't know how well subscribed it is. Either way you will need a car, but in terms of storage it will be easier to to store your formula gear then a boat.
Oh... If you decide to go with Formula windsurfing... Don't buy a Formula board to learn on. They are relatively technical to sail and easy to damage. You will learn much quicker and have much more fun learning on something a touch tuned down.
If you need any more info just let me know and I'll see what I can do.
I am in Horgen on business and was really hoping I could find a lesson for windsurfing. (I'm a beginner, so the lack of racing winds is a plus Are there any rentals + lessons (English) offered near Horgen or Zurich with weekday evening hours so I could go after work?
As an alternative, are any of the members of this post interested in offering a lesson Thursday or Friday evening this week (July 26-27) assuming I can find gear rental near by?
My last windsurfing excursion was near the north sea when I was last in Europe and to give you a feel for my truly beginner level, I was just learning to make turns.
Cheers!
Carrie
I know of a few schools, one of which I wouldn't recommend to my worst enemy.
There are two schools in Wallensee, which can be reached fairly easily by train from Zurich.
http://www.windsurfing-walensee.ch/
and
I have no experience of either of these schools, but the location for the first one, Wndsurfing Walensee is quite nice. There is a small restaurant there and it is a nice place to relax and watch the lake go by. The other place Shirocco is further up the same lake and possibly not quite as easy to get to by public transport. I don't know if either do lessons in English but my guess is that they would at least have a reasonable level of English (most people here do).
One disadvantage of learning in Switzerland is the unpredictability of the wind. While you are not looking for strong wind you do need a bit of a breeze to at least move you forward. Here in Switzerland it is possible that it can be totally windstill.
Another option if you are here for a weekend is to go to Silvaplana (next to St. Moritz). During the summer they get a consistent thermal wind and there is a school there. The scenery is stunning, but the water a touch cold. For me it wins hands down for windsurfing in Switzerland.
If you need any more information get in touch.
Best of Luck.
But hey if they manage to get a nice down the line reef break somewhere with in a couple of hours of Zürich I'd be happy. Ahhh.... Now thats got me day dreaming of perfect wavesailing conditions. How am I supposed to work now!!!
I am planning a small windsurf trip sometime in the next 2 weeks.
I usually go to some popular spots in south france
So there seems to be no alternative closer to Zurich ?
I am thinking of Lac de Monteynard near Grenoble in France, but its still quite far (and I might be better adding a few hundred kms to get to the sea)
Thanks for naming those few spots,
Could you please tell me how to pick a spot for the weekend ?
For example, what winds should I check ( I was told to watch out for Bise, Sud Föhn which has a page on meteocentrale) and how to pick a suitable spot around Zurich ?
Thanks