About LBWS

LBWS is the brainchild of four longboard windsurfing fanatics, Pat, Chris, Stuart and Rob, based in Sydney Australia. Although passionate about all disciplines of windsurfing, we have dedicated this site to the discipline of longboard windsurfing. From cruising with friends in light and high winds through to competitive course racing, LBWS aims to share the passion for longboard windsurfing with the world and assist in it’s revival.

What is a longboard windsurfer?

By LBWS’s definition it can not be a hybrid. So that means every board bigger than 3.2 metres in length which is the length limit of the hybrid class. Boards should have a centreboard, although a debate about this is welcome. But really we think the minimum length has to be at least 3.4 metres and not too wide. This definition includes everything from the original Windsurfer One design, displacement boards such as the division 2 through to Fun Boards, and the more modern Race Boards such as the Mistral Equip, Fanatic Mega Cat and the always impressive Mistral One Design (IMCO).

With manufactures again recognising the brilliance of windsurfing on a longboards there is a new crop of longboards to add to this proud history. These boards include the Starboard serenity, the ultimate light wind experience, and the Phantom 380 which also looks set to be a fast machine in light and high winds. When you ad to this the Exocet Kona and its Raceboard big brother the Warp X 380 the there are a number of options for on the market.

All of these boards offer a great sailing experience in light winds and sure fired thrill when the wind comes up. Its not that we have anything against the other types of windsurfing in our great sport, lets face it we all enjoy the odd bit of slalom and wave and have even dabbled in Formula but there is nothing like the all round great ride that a long board will provide.

Now some of you may be thinking that we are “jumping on the bandwagon” and want to capitalise on the resurgence of longboard sailing. Well, perhaps yes, a little, but we are not new to these boards, we never stopped sailing on them. While some of the windsurfing fleet in Sydney has drifted in to slalom, waves and more recently formula we still have a strong longboard cruising and racing scene in Sydney which includes folks of a variety of skill levels.

LBWS objectives

What are we trying to do with this web site. Well in short we want to share our passion for LBWS with the world and hear from others about longboard windsurfing in other parts of the world. We hope this ‘not-for-profit’ web site will be a hub for all things longboard windsurfing and will bring this avid group of windsurfers from around the world closer together. Moreover, with longboards being an ideal entry into this great sport we hope that the site will attract more people to this great sport.

More specifically, our objectives are;

• To share the joy of longboard windsurfing in all its forms.
• To promote and grow longboard windsurfing in all its forms.
• To attract new people to the sport of windsurfing.
• To provide a forum or hub for longboard windsurfing from around the world to come together.
• To promote debate about longboard WS and the variations within it
• To promote longboard manufacturers in an attempt to keep longboards within the board ranges.
• To ensure that the website has contributions from a range of people around the world.

The site falls into three parts, The Journal, Discussion Forum & Knowledge Base:

The Longboard Windsurfing Journal

• The Journal is like a blog or magazine with stories, news and tips

The Longboard Windsurfing Forum

• Thanks to all those members who have been active in this forum so far. Hopefully the forum will continue to encourage good discussion / debate and grow along with our longboard community.