Is Surfing Easier Than Windsurfing?

Question

i've done windsurfing, how is surfing different or the same? which is easier

Answer 1

Ive done both, surfing a lot more though, and i have to say windsurfing is easier. To surf one needs to be able to paddle for long periods of time meaning they have to be in some sort of physical shape. In windsurfing the hardest part is probably trying to get the sail up and then keeping it up which takes some arm strength as well. The windsurf boards are much easier to balance on. All in all windsurfing is easier. Hope this helps!

Answer 2

While the ability to balance is similar, they are extremely different. I was never much of a windsurfer, but my son-in-law was. He still took a while to catch on to surfing. There is the whole  need for paddling, and the fact that if things are going right, it's a rough day to paddle out through.

Also, a windsurfer, is sort of like a stand up paddle surfboard. It's pretty big and stable, to stand on most surfboards, you need the forward momentum to keep the board stable. Also, you steer a windsurfer with the aid of the sail, you steer a surfboard by weight shifts and lower body movements.

Both can be tough, in their own way. However, i have seen lots of people who are basically sand crabs learn how to windsurf, whereas surfing (real surfing) still belongs to watermen (or women).

Answer 3

I do both quite often. Let me tell you in my opinion surfing is much easier. When windsurfing you need to have a sense of the wind, be physically fit to lift the a water-filled sail out of the water. It is much tougher to balance say on a 8'0 windsurf board then a 6'0 surfboard. When there is very little wind, it is tough to balance on the windsurf board because it sort of sinks into the water. When there is alot of wind, it is also tough to balance because you've got the sail fully engulfed by the wind and it is tugging like a b*****. At one point the sail is pulling so hard on  your shoulders that you have to let go. Also if you are far from shore on a windsurf and the wind dies down, it is very difficult to come back to shore, and trying to paddle back on your stomach is just as difficult because you've the sail in the water creating resistance.