North Sail Windsurfing
Windsurfing is the ultimate surface water sport. It consists of a windsurf board usually two to four meters long, powered by the effect of the wind on a sail. The rig is connected to the board by a free-rotating universal joint and comprises a mast, wishbone boom and sail. The sail area ranges from less than 3.0m 2 to more than 12m 2 depending on the conditions, the skill of the sailor and the type of windsurfing being undertaken.
At one time referred to as "surfing's ginger haired cousin" by the sport's legendary champion, Robby Naish, windsurfing has long struggled to present a coherent image of the sport to outsiders. Indeed, until the 1990s participants would regularly use different names to describe the sport, including sailboarding and board sailing . Despite the term "Windsurfing" becoming the accepted name for the sport, participants are still called "sailors" and not "surfers".
In fact windsurfing can be said to straddle both the laid-back culture of surf sports and the more rules-based environment of sailing. Although it might be considered a minimalistic version of a sailboat, a windsurfer offers experiences that are outside the scope of any other sailing craft design. Windsurfers can perform jumps, inverted loops, spinning maneuvers, and other "freestyle" moves that cannot be matched by any sailboat. When compared to surfing, Windsurfers were the first to ride the world's largest waves, such as Jaws on the island of Maui, and, with very few exceptions, it was not until the advent of tow-in surfing that waves of that size became accessible to traditional surfers. Extreme waves aside, many expert windsurfers will ride the same waves as surfers do (wind permitting) and are themselves usually very accomplished without a rig on a conventional surfboard.
The sport has a potentially shallower (longer) learning curve when compared to other so-called "extreme" sports, like snowboarding, freeride Mountain Biking or kitesurfing. The average beginner starting off on a 3.8 m long board with a tiny triangular sail in less than 5 knots of wind on a shallow lake often struggles to see the similarity between what they are doing and the images they see in magazines of a more advanced sailor using a 2.25 m board to ride waves in 20-30 knots of wind.
Key to this is the difference between displacement sailing and hydroplaning (referred to as "planing"). The former takes place in light winds (up to 10 knots) and involves the hull moving through the water using (typically) a centreboard and fin or skeg for stability and lateral resistance. Directional control is achieved via the rig and weighting one or other side the board, or sinking the tail.
When the wind gets above 8-10 knots (typically 15 knots+ for recreational equipment) the board ceases to move through the water and instead planes on top of the water, skimming over the surface at much higher speeds. To make the most of planing conditions, the board needs to be smaller and can dispense with the centreboard as sufficient lift and lateral resistance are provided by the fin (or combination of fins). When planing, changing direction is achieved via rotating the rig and engaging one of the rails (edges) of the board which is referred to as carving. Though windsurfing is possible in winds from near 0 to 50 knots, the ideal planing conditions for most recreational sailors is 15-25 knots.
Beginners must develop their balance and core stability, acquire an understanding of sailing theory, and learn a range of techniques before they can progress to planing windsurfing.
Initial lessons can be taken with a Windsurfing School, which exist in reasonable numbers in most countries. With coaching and favorable conditions, the basic skills of sailing, steering, and turning can be learned within a few hours. Competence in the sport and mastery of more advanced maneuvers such as planing, carve gybing (turning downwind at speed), water starting, jumping, and more advanced moves can require lengthy practice. Training DVDs exist which are useful in a sport where it is difficult for a coach to be close to a pupil particularly when learning the more advanced maneuvers.
Nevertheless, windsurfing is a sport which, once mastered, can be enjoyed, even at an advanced level, well into retirement and then at a more sedate level for considerably longer still. This is partly down to the fact that windsurfing crashes tend to cause less injury than those sports which take place on harder surfaces (although being reckless whilst windsurfing in advanced conditions can still cause serious injury due to the speeds and altitudes involved).
Windsurfing is predominately undertaken on a non-competitive basis. Organised competition does take place at all levels across the world and typical formats for competitive windsurfing include speed sailing, slalom, course racing, wave sailing, superX, and freestyle.
The boom of the 1980s led windsurfing to be recognized as an Olympic sport in 1984. However, windsurfing's popularity saw a sharp decline in the mid-1990s, as equipment became more specialized, requiring more expertise to sail. Now the sport is experiencing a modest revival, as new beginner-friendly designs are becoming available.
History
Windsurfing, as a sport and recreational activity, did not emerge until the later half of the 20th century. But before this, there have been sailing boats of various designs that have used wind as the driving force for millennia, and Polynesians have been riding waves for many of them, undertaking day trips over oceans standing upright on a solid board with a vertical sail. Therefore, crediting a single person with the invention of windsurfing would be presumptuous.
However, because of the financial stakes in the manufacture and sale of windsurfing equipment, and the way in which a sport invented by core activists was eventually commercialised, there has been considerable dispute and litigation between parties claiming the rights to the invention. As with many modern commercial disputes, the origin and ownership of the final design was resolved in court, but it is accepted that the earliest modern design originated in the United Kingdom.
Universal joint, moveable sail, steering
In 1964, over a discussion on water sports over a brandy at his home in Southern California, RAND Corporation aeronautical engineer Jim Drake and his former Rockwell boss and now good friend Fred Payne, who worked at The Pentagon, discussed options for creating a wind-powered water-ski which would allow Payne to travel on the Potomac River. That night they developed the idea of a kite powered surfboard. On later reflection, Drake didn't like the integrity of the idea and dismissed it. There were already a number of sailboard designs available, and Drake also was concerned about the integrity of a design needing taut wire close to a human body to keep the sail upright.
Still developing the idea, Drake's wife met the pregnant Diana Schweitzer, and the two families became good friends through their children. Drake mentioned the idea to surfer Hoyle Schweitzer who wanted to develop it, but Drake was still unsure of how to control and steer what he envisaged in a design concept as a surfboard with upright sail design, whereby the sailor stood upright on the board holding the sail.
The technical problem was that most boats steer by varying the angle of attack in the water between the centre board and the rudder, and Drake's question came down to simple operation of how a standing person could control both the power of the sail as well as the direction of the craft.
In 1967, while driving between his home and a contract at the Norton Air Force Base in San Bernadino, Drake had time to reflect on early 1600s based sail ship control. Rudders then were weak and ineffective, mostly used for trimming course. Hence with multi-masted boats, the sailors would trim the upper sails on the forward and rearwards masts to steer the ship.
Dismissing the idea of a design with two upright sails, Drake decided to move the sail by rotation, as moving it linearly would require a mechanical system. Experimenting with a rotational design which became the concept for the universal joint, whereby the angle of attack of the sail to the board could be varied to allow control of both power and craft direction. Drake finished the design by using an earlier but for them failed invention of East Coast racing sail, and added a wishbone boom.
Windsurfing International
In 1968, Drake and Hoyle together as individuals filed the very first windsurfing patent, which was granted by the USPTO in 1970. There is no evidence that they had knowledge of any prior inventions similar to theirs, but Drake accepts in retrospect that although he can be credited with invention, he was "probably no better than third," behind Englishman Peter Chilvers and mid-west based Newman Darby.
The early windsurfing boards were made of foam in the garages of Drake and Hoyle, with the booms, tees and daggerboards hand crafted in teak. Hoyle sub-contracted the manufacture of the tea
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