Lithuania

The 'summer capital of Poland' still has echoes of the glamorous seaside resort of the 1920s and '30s, when the great and powerful risked their fortunes at the casino and the racetrack. Nowadays, during the warmer months, holidaymakers and Gdansk sightseers (taking a break from a 'cultural’ trip) bustle through town. But this is also home to one of Poland’s biggest windsurfing clubs; like-minded folk and a huge car-park. While some stroll over Poland’s longest sea bridge, others exploit easterly summer breezes for their first attempts at windsurfing. The rest of the year is dominated by westerlies, which are offshore so not ideal. Sopot starts getting interesting on rare northerly days, with port-tack jumping over steep Baltic waves.

On the Baltic coast, Jastarnia offers a wide sandy beach – and happily, no groynes extending into the water. There are no official restrictions either, although summer attracts so many sunbathers to the beach that there's no question of launching. But most likely you won't score cross-shore wind anyway, as north-west and south-easterly are very rare.

On the outskirts of Jastarnia (population 4,000) the sandy, low-lying shoreline slips into a vast shallow venue where windsurfers come to learn. While you're down here, it's worth a visit to the nearby harbour where they serve the day's fresh catch of fish.