The 32-year-old has been windsurfing since he was a child and was runner-up in the German kitesurfing championship at the age of 16. Over the past seven years, he has spent winters in the Caribbean, where he ran a kitesurfing school and also learnt about wingsurfing. Last year, he sold all his kitesurfing equipment and bought a whole range of wingsurf boards with a total of seven foils and all the wings available on the market.
Malte, what fascinates you about wingsurfing?
Surfing with a loose sail as such has been around for a very long time. But the idea of equipping it with the technology and materials of new tube kites is completely new. And that's exactly what fascinated me. The better the foil setup and the better the technology, the less power you need. It's quite simple.
But what is the art of it?
The art is safe sailing in all water conditions, smooth manoeuvres and clean gliding through the tacks and jibes. Initially, you use larger foil wings of around 2000 square centimetres and travel relatively slowly. The speed is around 10 to 20 km/h. The good rider will eventually use smaller foils. With a smaller wing and twice the speed (now around 25-50 km/h on average), the manoeuvres and planing are also twice as difficult.
"Wingsurfing is Formula 1 on cotton wool"
What fascinates you about wingsurfing?
Wingsurfing is an indescribable feeling that I want to bring closer to as many people as possible. A very delicate and intuitive sport, wingsurfing is not off-road racing with a monster truck. It's more like Formula 1 on cotton wool, where you're not trapped on the racetrack but can experience the infinity of space. The spots suddenly become huge! Wingsurfers like to find their own spots. Far away from the hustle and bustle. There are no full spots. Spots that were previously unrideable are 100% perfect with the wing. You cut through the choppy water. Honestly, could it get any better? The open Baltic Sea is enough, a huge sea full of possibilities. A few kitesurfing and windsurfing schools already offer wingsurfing on the side. With Wingsurf-Fehmarn, we are the first school in Germany to focus exclusively on this trend sport.
What are the aims of the ten-hour beginners' course?
The aim of a beginner's course is to equip you as a student with the basic knowledge of this new water sport. After a ten-hour beginners' course, everyone can go to the spot independently and continue learning without endangering themselves or others. Whether you are a complete watersports beginner or an advanced windsurfer: we cater to the individual needs of wingsurfing students and thus guarantee good learning success. It doesn't matter what progress you make on the course. The important thing is that you feel confident with the equipment. But the goal is clear: your first metres of foiling and that's where we'll take you! Previous experience is desirable, but not essential.
Where will you be training?
The training location is selected depending on the wind direction and is approached by boat from Burgtiefe marina. The meeting point is usually in Burgtiefe, but can vary. Depending on the course status, we are never tied to one spot.
Learning concepts for learning wingsurfing are not yet available. How did you go about it?
We are certain that a good training concept can only work if the teacher really takes time for the student and has a high level of expertise in the respective sport. In terms of the training concept, for example, we don't believe in mass training. Our motto is "class instead of mass". We have a maximum of two people per instructor in practical lessons. Furthermore, we train with high-quality equipment that is perfectly designed for training and have a large selection of boards and wings in our programme. This is how we make this new, exciting sport safe and guarantee a lot of fun while learning! Our training programme is based on the standard training concepts for windsurfing and kitesurfing, but specialises in wingsurfing. Safety and learning success are our top priorities.
What the current market has to offer in terms of suitable beginner material, and this is extremely important for beginners to know, is not much. Only a few manufacturers even have suitable equipment. The training must be broken down into different stages. Theory on land, then practice without a foil, then practice with a small foil and then practice with a large foil. This gives the student a safe approach to this fascinating sport. If you simply send them out on a "foil SUP", it is dangerous on the one hand and impossible to make progress on the other.
You only put your wingsurfing students on a wingsurf board in the last phase of the beginner's course.
Exactly. As already mentioned, the training must be divided into stages and worked through one after the other. After the theory, i.e. the basic knowledge about wind windows, manoeuvring circles and equipment, we go into the water. Initially, a spot is chosen that is shallow. The students spend the first time on a SUP-like board and are secured with a leash so that they cannot drift off. The focus here is first on the basic manoeuvres, i.e. evasion, self-rescue and handling the wing. Then you continue with the same, large-volume board until you get to the right foil board. So you change board and wing size depending on the course status. The sizes of the foil wings are also crucial for learning success, as are the correct lengths of the mast.
Are the beginners' courses already well received?
Yes, we are already fully booked until mid-August. The equipment has just arrived and we look forward to welcoming all windsurfing students.
Info and contact: wingsurf-fehmarn.de
