Windsurfing Urnersee

Windsurfing Urnersee is a watersports centre that has been operating since 1982 on the shore of Lake Uri (Urnersee), the southern arm of Lake Lucerne, in Flüelen, at Gruonbach. Run by AF Sport GmbH, headed by Florian Jauch and Andrea Aregger, it brings together on one site a wingfoiling and windsurfing school, a rental station, a shop with a test centre and a small campsite reserved for watersports enthusiasts, with a bistro and a beach set aside for riders. The lake is known for its afternoon thermal breeze; the station closes at the end of August, when the thermal wind fades.

Wingfoiling lessons are taught in small groups (four students at most, three at the advanced levels), with an instructor following in a motorboat. The progression starts with Wing Surf Basic on a large windsurf board, continues with tow foiling (towed behind the boat) and then Wing Foil Advanced for the first flights; a VIP weekend combines all three steps. Next come the Wing Foil Shuttle sessions, in which the boat takes students back upwind, and focus clinics with team riders (flying, gybes, foot switches, tacks, jumps). The school also teaches beginner and improver windsurfing, with a boat and a radio on request. Rental covers wingfoil, windsurf, windfoil, pumpfoil, SUP and kayak gear; wing and windsurf equipment is only rented to people who can already sail upwind. Every year-end, a wing and windsurf week is held at Lahami Bay, Egypt.

The shop sells windsurf and wing equipment, wetsuits, harnesses and accessories, on site and online, with a used and end-of-line section; gear can be tried on the water before buying. The company is the Swiss importer of Patrik, Ezzy Sails, Chinook, Morpho Sails and Thommen Sailboards, and the shop also carries Duotone, Armstrong, ION, Prolimit, Goya and Dakine. Since 2016, the campsite has also been the starting point of the Flüelen Kiteshuttle, a boat service for experienced kitesurfers run together with the KITEFUN school.