Windsurfing is one of the first of the modern day water-sports to take off big time in Ireland.  Still huge and holding its own among the others, with international events on the world calendar

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Windsurfing is one of the first of the modern day water-sports to take off big time in Ireland.  Still huge and holding its own among the others, with international events on the world calendar held in Ireland in year.

Windsurfing is a surface water sport that combines elements of surfing and sailing. It consists of a windsurf board usually two to four meters long, powered by the effect of the wind on a sail. The rig is connected to the board by a free-rotating universal joint and comprises a mast, wishbone boom and sail. The sail area ranges from less than 3.0m² to more than 12m² depending on the conditions, the skill of the sailor and the type of windsurfing being undertaken.

Windsurfing can be said to straddle both the laid-back culture of surf sports and the more rules-based environment of sailing. Although it might be considered a minimalistic version of a sailboat, a windsurfer offers experiences that are outside the scope of any other sailing craft design. Windsurfers can perform jumps, inverted loops, spinning maneuvers, and other "freestyle" moves that cannot be matched by any sailboat. When compared to surfing, Windsurfers were the first to ride the world's largest waves, such as Jawson the island of Maui, and, with very few exceptions, it was not until the advent of tow-in surfing  that waves of that size became accessible to wavesurfers. Extreme waves aside, many expert windsurfers will ride the same waves as wavesurfers do (wind permitting) and are themselves usually very accomplished without a rig on a conventional surfboard.

The sport has a considerably longer learning curve when compared to other so-called "extreme" sports, like snowboarding, freestyle, mountain biking or kitesurfing. The average beginner starting off on a 3.8 m long board with a tiny triangular sail in less than 5 knots of wind on a shallow lake often struggles to see the similarity between what they are doing and the images they see in magazines of a more advanced sailor using a 2.25 m board to ride waves in 20-30 knots of wind.

When the wind gets above 8-10 knots (typically 15 knots+ for recreational equipment) the board ceases to move through the water and instead planes on top of the water, skimming over the surface at much higher speeds. To make the most of planing conditions, the board needs to be smaller and can dispense with the centreboard as sufficient lift and lateral resistance are provided by the fin (or combination of fins). When planing, changing direction is achieved via rotating the rig and engaging one of the rails (edges) of the board which is referred to as carving. Though windsurfing is possible in winds from near 0 to 50 knots, the ideal planing conditions for most recreational sailors is 15-25 knots.

Beginners must develop their balance and core stability, acquire an understanding of sailing theory, and learn a range of techniques before they can progress to planing windsurfing.

Initial lessons can be taken with a sailsurfing school. With coaching and favorable conditions, the basic skills of sailing, steering, and turning can be learned within a few hours. Competence in the sport and mastery of more advanced maneuvers such as planing, carve gybing (turning downwind at speed), water starting, jumping, and more advanced moves can require lengthy practice. Training DVD's exist which are useful in a sport where it is difficult for a coach to be close to a pupil particularly when learning the more advanced maneuvers.

Nevertheless, windsurfing is a sport which, once mastered, can be enjoyed, even at an advanced level, well into retirement and then at a more sedate level for considerably longer still. This is partly down to the fact that windsurfing crashes tend to cause less injury than those sports which take place on harder surfaces (although being reckless whilst windsurfing in advanced conditions can still cause serious injury due to the speeds and altitudes involved).

 competitive windsurfing include speed sailing, slalom, course racing, wave sailing, superX, and freestyle.

The boom of the 1980s led windsurfing to be recognized as an Olympic sport in 1984. However, windsurfing's popularity saw a sharp decline in the mid-1990s, as equipment became more specialized, requiring more expertise to sail. Now the sport is experiencing a modest revival, as new beginner-friendly designs are becoming available.