UKWA Windsurfer LT Nationals 2026 at Steamer Point, Christchurch

by Roger Turner 29 Aug 07:46 BST 22-23 August 2026

After the success of last year's event we came back for more with even more entries and very different set of conditions.

The format is simple. Enter, Race, Banter.

Entry

The entry bit is all done online and a pretty simple process that has become streamlined over the years. The camping, parking, UKWA membership is all clear, as is the electronic tagging system once you're onsite. The Notice of Race etc, results and all comms are polished and professional to a level that is refreshing in this world. In fact, the infrastructure that the UKWA provide to these relatively small fleets is amazing.

For this Race Board event (Windsurfer LT, Windsurf Foil, Techno and Wing foil) the LT entry made up over half the entries, perhaps a sign of the way the sport is heading.

With light winds forecast of 8-10 knots, I'm sure the entries would have been greater for stronger winds. For the Windsurfer LT fleet though, this is enough wind, even though at times it probably dipped to 5 knots, making for tricky conditions especially downwind in the choppy onshore waves.

Racing

With 3 races on both afternoons, once the sea-breeze had established, racing was close. All the races were two laps of a simple upwind/downwind course lasting about 25 mins for the top competitors and about 5-10 mins longer for me!

The starts are as intimidating as you want them to be. The top sailors have worked out the perfect position on the line, but less crowded and confrontational slots can be found elsewhere. After the 5-4-1-go beeps we are allowed to pump for the first 30 seconds and the good sailors already have an advantage.

Tacking away for clean air always makes sense but again the good sailors seem to make their way back up through the fleet even after a poor start. Their ability and efficiency both upwind and in pumping onto the waves downwind, is awesome to see. The windward mark was a nightmare with a little current requiring way too many extra tacks to get round cleanly, with a lot of skin and neoprene deposited on the buoy!

The lightweights took the top 8 places and the top 2 fought out between Alysia Gibson and Paul Leone, both established international racers, taking 3 wins each. But the fleet is always divided up based on weights, in this case just light (sub 80kg) and heavy (over 80kg), so really you are racing against the sailors in your weight division, not the whole fleet. Bigger fleets will have more categories. I guess being towards the lighter end of your weight category is and advantage, but then so is skill and race-craft.

Banter

Unfortunately, the parched condition of the campsite at Steamer Point prevented the mega barbecue that is part of the Windsurfer LT ethos of 50% racing:50% fun. But in general the LT fleet is super friendly and willing to share advice on rigging, tactics and strategy, but on the water it is hard to apply the principles that seemed so clear earlier!

The significant South African contingent was gutted they couldn't show off their 'braai' skills -next time boys!

The average age of the LT competitors is 'mature', so there is a lot of experience coming into play with some awesome skills from the prestart through to the energetic pumping, that is allowed off the wind. Don't underestimate a Super Legend (65+)! We have some youngsters too and the appeal of proper racing in big fleets, as abroad, must be a massive attraction.

Future

The one-design factor is a huge appeal to many racers, but unfortunately, personally speaking, leaves little room for excuses. Sadly, the established Race Board fleet is increasingly depleted and the contrast between our kit and theirs is stark. They are definitely faster with their long, thin, box-sided boards and huge complex adjustable rigs. But we can teach and mess about on our Windsurfer LTs, use them in waves and as a SUP board and guarantee simple and fair racing in increasingly large one-design fleets. Literally all you can change are your harness lines and ropes. Make no mistake, although these are fundamentally easy boards to sail, to win races at high level takes serious skills in all areas. Hence the involvement of ex Olympic and international sailors. We are aiming for 40 entries next year (with a mega barbecue to make up for what we missed this year) and we honestly believe that 100+ sailors is a realistic proposition based on what is happening around the world. That would be amazing to see..

Please don't assume that this is slow and heavy kit. Most competent windsurfer should be able to get to 20 knots using the standard rig and fin, and the manoeuvrability is incredible for a board of this size.

At the moment there is lot of the activity is around the south coast, but we are all aware that there are an increasing number of boards elsewhere. The UKWA are keen for the Windsurf LT to grow and participate in more of their series, including the National Windsports Champs at Rutland 26/27th September, followed by the race event in Portland Harbour 10/11th October Also, just a couple of week to the Round Hayling Island race on12th September, 14 miles of endurance including a low bridge to negotiate. Used to be a massive event in the windsurfing calendar, with good socials too. Different vibe to short course racing but a great adventure too. There may be opportunities to join with racing at your local club too, for instance against Lasers/ILCA.

So, lots of opportunities to get on board with the retro revolution and get windsurfing again.

Thanks also to the sponsors; Boardwise, OTC, SurfDoctor, Starboard/Severne/IQ Foil for making it all happen.