WINDSURFING

CONTENTS

What is Windsurfing?

The History of Wind Surfing

Equipment

WHAT IS WINDSURFING?

Windsurfing is a surface water sport that is a combination of surfing and sailing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the surf culture of California. Windsurfing had gained a following across North America by the late 1970s and had achieved significant global popularity by the 1980s. Windsurfing is a recreational sport, most popular at flat water locations around the world that offer safety and accessibility for beginner and intermediate participants. The sport has two distinct interest groups, namely Racing and Riding, with many participants embracing both. For many, windsurfing is sailing in its elementary and most enjoyable form - a flexible triangle-shaped sail mounted on a board. The 20th-century recreational activity has its origins in Polynesian watercraft. Fishermen and sailors used a small sailing boat and sail to navigate the Pacific Ocean water in an upright position. But modern windsurfing has a different story. In 1964, Sidney Newman Darby Jr. connected a simple hand-held sail to a wood plank using a universal joint made of nylon rope. Olympic windsurfing features sailors racing over a traditional triangle course and was first contested in 1984, as a demonstration sport, with separate competitions for men and women introduced in 1992. There were slight equipment changes in successive Olympiads: sailboards of the Windglider design were used at the 1984 Games, Division II boards in 1988, Lechner boards in 1992, and Mistral boards from 1996.

THE HISTORY OF WINDSURFING

Windsurfing is an aquatic sport which combines the disciplines of sailing and surfing. The sport emerged in California in the 1960s, and spread rapidly to many regions of the world from there. Today, windsurfers can be found on a variety of waterways, from the open ocean to indoor pools, and there are a number of competitions dedicated specifically to this sport, including Olympic events. The enormous popularity of the sport in the late 1970s and 1980s led windsurfing to be recognized as an Olympic sport in 1984 as a demonstration sport that year. That same year saw the first international professional tour and the first year of the Aloha Classic event at Ho'okipa on Maui's north shore. The Windsurfing boom continued into the 1990s with the Professional side of the sport becoming immensely popular across global media. Windsurfing had a larger global media presence than Surfing during these years. This popularity attracted significant sponsorship deals which in turn further promoted the sport with extensive paid advertising. There are small and large boards and sails for different wind conditions, and types of sailing, and levels of experience. The windsurfer can sail the rig in the open ocean, rivers, lakes, estuaries, and even indoor swimming pools. The sport powered by the wind offers several disciplines: slalom and course racing, (big) wave sailing, freestyle, and speed sailing, and hydro foiling. Sailboarding enables riders to perform huge jumps, carve the waves, and accelerate on flat and bumpy waters.

EQUIPMENT

Windsurfers are often classified as either shortboards or longboards. Longboards are usually longer than 3 meters, with a retractable daggerboard, and are optimized for lighter winds or course racing. Shortboards are less than 3 meters long and are designed for planning conditions. While windsurfing is possible under a wide range of wind conditions, most intermediate and advanced recreational windsurfers prefer to sail in conditions that allow for consistent planning with multi-purpose, not overly specialized, free-ride equipment. Larger (100 to 140 liters) free-ride boards are capable of planning at wind speeds as low as 12 kn (6 m/s) if rigged with an adequate, well-tuned sail in the six to eight square meter range. The pursuit of planning in lower winds has driven the popularity of wider and shorter boards, with which planning is possible in wind as low as 8 kn (4 m/s), if sails in the 10 to 12 square meter range are used. The mast connects to the board through the mast base, which has a universal joint that allows the mast to be moved in any direction. The boat is steered by changing the sail’s position relative to the wind and to the centerboard. This is accomplished by adjusting one’s hold on the double boom in order to rake the sail forward or aft, windward or leeward. 고스톱