You do realise you 've walked into the best windsurfing centre in the world ? ' announces our instructor , Sam , at the beginning of our first lesson at Club Vassiliki . While these surfer dudes tend to lean towards hyper-enthusiasm ( everything is 'totally awesome ' or 'epic ' ) , I think he may be right on this one . We can sense it the second we arrive at this windsurfing hotspot on the southern end of Lefkada island in Greece . Our welcoming committee of caramel-coloured instructors eye up the new arrivals through their Ray-Bans . Staying on her feet ( for now ) : Francesca gets to grips with the art of wind-surfing in sunny Lefkada . When my friend and I wander down to the beach , we see an exhilarating display of one hundred windsurfers skimming across the water like dragonflies . We sit drooling on the sand and make a pact to be professional standard by the end of the week . How hard can it be ? Everyone at Club Vass - a hotel and windsurf school - has the same obsession . And it 's contagious . While the converted flock here annually for their fix , it 's also the perfect training ground for beginners . Thanks to its position in a thumb-shaped inlet , enclosed on three sides by mountains , this watery playground has its own weather system , which runs like clockwork during the summer . A light onshore breeze sees the novices through until lunchtime . By early afternoon , the heat pressure behind the western mountain has built up so the wind whooshes down into the bay . Off come the rookies , on go the pros . There are numerous watersports centres along Vassiliki beach , but Club Vass , which has been here since 1987 , is the place to be . It has more Royal Yachting Association advanced instructors than any other centre in the world . They are wonderfully sympathetic to our incompetence , despite some of them being ranked among the UK 's top professional windsurfers ( the hotel walls are lined with shots of them in action , including one of a chiselled freestyler above my bed which prompts a nightly sigh ) . On day one , Sam shows us how to climb on to the board , haul the sail up and do a static turn ( wafting the sail across the back of the board to turn 180 degrees ) . I feel like a new-born foal trying out my legs for the first time . We all plop in the sea constantly , but it is bathwater warm with a sandy bottom . Sometimes I fall in on purpose . Mornings begin with Greek yogurt and honey before our lesson at 10.30am . We return at lunchtime to refuel , then it 's back to the water to practise . More than 250 boards and sails are lined up for the taking , and when you traipse floppily off the water after your session , one of the beach staff magically appears to put it all back for you . It 's not all about the windsurfing . There are mountain bikes , yoga classes , fitness sessions , paddle boarding and a bustling Kids ' Club . Stroll along the beach to Vassiliki town for a competitive line-up of seaside tavernas offering tzatziki , fried courgette and giant meaty skewers , or nip eastwards to the pretty bay of Sivota where we gorge on fresh fish and watch yachts bobbing . The social scene at Club Vass is a big draw , says a university graduate , here for his sixth summer . Every evening , guests at the beach bar swap anecdotes about their windsurfing feats . I throw in a bit of lingo about 'heli tacks ' and 'duck gybes ' , but give the game away on the water the next morning when a girl from my table at dinner glides past and waves . I return the gesture and topple off . On our final , gusty afternoon I 'm first on the water . Leaning my full weight back against the sail , the board slices through the sea . I 'm smitten . Not with my instructor ( well , not just with my instructor ) , but with this utterly thrilling sport . A seven-night stay at Club Vass ( 0844 463 0191 , www.clubvass.com ) costs from £599 per person , including flights from Gatwick , transfers , windsurfing tuition , mountain biking and stand-up-paddle boarding .
Pretty Lefkada is More than 250 of the most northerly of the Greek islands . Often lost in the shadow of Kefalonia , it is a destination of quiet charm . It is also a great place to learn to wind-surf - as our writer discovers .