objc said...


where do you do the course?? From what I've read RYA qualifications are accepted everywhere? The only place in aus i can find that does it is flying fish who seem to do 12 week $8000 courses that teach you how to windsurf first....seems like a bit of a scam as who would become an instructor with no windsurfing experience whatsoever.......BUT there is a 5 day course which seems legit-ish

Fish mainly target gap year UK kids with buckets of cash coming out of their ears.. So the Australia courses are set up like a learn-to-windsurf/holiday/instructor-course and thus really expensive. They have to fly staff out, cover insurance and that all gets passed onto the clients... All you are getting is a level One RYA ticket and you can do that in a weekend for $300 in the UK..

Most of the people who pass these courses go to a Resort with fark all wind and more dinghys than windsurfers..

I did a weeks Fish course in Vassiliki, and got a job with Club Vass after I decided it was better to work for free than go to some windless ****hole.. I bargained Fish down to just the week course, cause I told them I could already Double Forward..

Also, is it easy to organize or do you have to know people and have stacks of teaching experience???

Thanks

It's easy to give your money to Fish to get a RYA ticket, what they probably wont tell you while you are handing your money over, is many places will not hire you without a UK working Visa or a UK passport.. I recommend doing the course in Greece, the first course of their summer, and work your ass off to get a job behind the bar when you finish your course..

Best way to windsurf heaps is to go to WA for the summer, then Jeri Brasil...

What Barn said.

Do the one week course with FF - they'll hate you for it and try to upsell you onto the gazillion dollar packages, but they will let you do it. Definitely go do it in Vass and talk to everyone on the beach. If you're lucky you might do as Barn did and be allowed to work for free at Vass. Otherwise there's also Nielson / Neilson further up the beach as well. If you can get free work at Club Vass for the first season you're pretty much made in the European instructing world as the Club Vass team are rated as the best there are.

Alternatively go get a dogman's ticket, work FIFO and spend your off time following the wind around WA living out of a van. That'll get you seriously good and save some decent coin for trips to Dahab / Jeri, etc.