Windsurfing

History:

Wind surfing was originally created by inventors Jim Drake and Hoyle Schweitzer on January 6, 1970, but has since then gone a long way. Jim Drake had the original idea of a surfboard powered by a sail, but in the beginning it was a failed idea with either static sail mounted on the board or two sails.

Gear:

In modern windsurfing there are several different types to choose between.

* Freeride boards are most used in recreational windsurfing and is kind of an all around board. Its usually used for going straight with occasional turning at planning speed. This is not recommended for any kind of slalom between buoys or other obstacles.

* Wave boards are small, light and is easier to maneuver and is better when breaking waves. Usually these boards are between 230 - 260 cm long and about 50 - 60 cm wide. These are good boards to perform jumps when you go up against a wave. The sails are usually between 4 - 6 square meters.

* Freestyle boards are boards that you use for acrobatic tricks like jumps, rotations, flips, slides and loops on flat water. These are usually a bit wider boards with more volume. 240 - 250 cm long and 60+ cm wide.

* Slalom boards you would think that they are build to be easy to maneuver, but on the contrary they are built for high speed. These boards can be tough to use.

* Beginner boards are also known as dagger boards. Usually quite wide boards with a relative small sail attached to it. So its less speed, but more stable.

* Racing Longboards are usually Mistral One Design or Olympic RS:X and are not that common in recreational windsurfing.

Windsurfing is a difficult sport with a long learning curve and if you think that you can master this sport after a week on vacation you are aiming for the wrong sport. It is a sport that requires lot of physical strength and is usually started of by one week just trying to get on the board and hold it straight.