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The basic skill, which a beginner surfer must possess, is to be able to keep the rig up while point the board forward. For the everyday man of action, who does not have much free time, a short vacation can be enough to fully relax while windsurfing.

This makes happy the ones, who pass us over on the highway towards the sea with windsurfing equipment on top of their cars.

The suitable time for this sport in Greece is from early spring until late fall. Here, there are excellent conditions for surfing and there are suitable spots for beginners and advanced windsurfers.

The Aegean Sea offers excellent conditions for this sport, because of its many islands and the typical north wind – meltem. It “slides” on the Aegean waters from May until September and gets stronger in July and August. The wind is not the same everywhere. It is stronger on the Cycladic islands – Naxos and Paros, which due to this reason attract thousands of surfers from all Europe.

The north-western winds in the Ionian Sea create suitable conditions as well. Though weaker, they are also excellent for windsurfers but Lefkada is the only island, where this sport is actively practiced.

So in Greece, if you find simple surfing equipment, it will be enough to enjoy this sport, because there is abundance of everything else.

Beginner surfers and the ones, who are thinking of whether to buy a board and a rig or to spend one more vacation on the beach under the sun, should know that windsurfing has few levels: funboard (slalom distance), raceboard (could windsurf with any equipment but the board needs to have a centerboard), Olympic level RS:X and Formula windsurfing, which is the hardest level.

The most famous windsurfing centers in the Aegean are on the islands Naxos, Paros, Lefkada, Rhodes, Karpathos, Kos, Mykonos and Crete.

Karpathos is situated 10 kilometers south of Rhodes. Mistral Club windsurfing center is in the south part of the island. The wind there has constant direction and strength, which makes it suitable for training of beginner surfers.

It is good to know that on Karpathos, between July 31^st and August 5^th 2009, there will be a round of the Speed Windsurfing World Championship.

This year, anyone willing has the chance not only to compete with all the famous professionals but also to win the 2009 World Championship.

The participation fee is ?160 but you have the chance to win ?25 000.

The potential champions can make a reservation until June 21^st. Hurry up, because the spots in this championship are only 45. The address is http://www.KarpathosSpeedSurf.com, which is also the official website of the Karpathos municipality. The municipal development organization is responsible for the organization of the championship.