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Windsurfing is a relatively new sport whose conception can be traced to the garages of two guys from Southern California. In 1968, a sailor named Jim Drake and a surfer named Hoyle Schweitzer put their heads together and came up with the idea of a new sport which brought out the best in their favorite pastimes. A windsurfer, or sailboard, is basically a combination of a small sailboat and a surfboard, constructed by placing a sail on a universal joint which can be steered by the person who stands upon the floating board. The universal joint allows the rider to steer the board in any direction without the use of a rudder– thus forming the only craft of its kind to be steered without the use of a rudder.

By the late 1970’s, windsurfing had caught on big in Europe– an estimate of 1 in 3 European households had one! As the 1980’s rolled around, windsurfing had become a competitive sport, and the professional World Cup tour was created. It soon became so popular that windsurfing was deemed an Olympic sport in 1984 at the Los Angeles games.

A couple of variations of windsurfing are enjoyed by participants. First, there’s cruising, where the rider is sailing casually about on a lake or smooth sea. Some folks cruise from island to island, which you can imagine is a lot of fun. Next, there is freestyle windsurfing where the rider seeks out tricks, jumps and maneuvers. Also, some riders enjoy high-wind speedsailing where the wind is blowing above 10 knots. Some riders can ride winds as fast as 40 knots!

Slalom sailing includes zipping back and forth in high winds which makes it a challenging and exciting aspect to the sport. There’s also what’s called bump-and-jump-sailing where riders do just that: jump over the bumpy waves created by choppy waters. Finally, there’s wavesailing which presents the most difficult situation for the rider, because a wipe-out under the crest of a wave could cause major damage to the rider and the sailboard.

Windsurfing requires good upper-body strength and great balance. Once you master it, the rewards are great– moving without effort aided by both wind and water is an incomparable experience.