EXTREME SPORTS LEARN TO RIDE

WIND
SURF
Windsurfing is a surface water sport Some credit S. Newman Darby with Windsurfing can be said to strad-
that combines elements of surfing the origination of windsurfing by dle both the laid-back culture of
and sailing. It consists of a board 1965 on the Susquehanna River, surf sports and the more rules-
usually 2 to 3 metres long, with a Pennsylvania, USA when he invenbased environment of sailing. Al-
volume of about 60 to 250 liters, poted the "sailboard", which, incidenthough it might be considered a
wered by wind on a sail. The rig is tally, he did not patent.In 1964, minimalistic version of a sailboat,
connected to the board by a free-ro- Darby began selling his sailboards. A a windsurfer offers experiences
tating universal joint and consists of promotional article by Darby was that are outside the scope of any
a mast, 2-sided boom and sail. The published in the August 1965 edi- other sailing craf design. Wind-
sail area generally ranges from 2.5 tion of Popular Science magazine. surfers can perform jumps, inver-
m2 to 12 m2 depending on the con- While Darby's "sailboard" incorpoted loops, spinning maneuvers,
ditions, the skill of the sailor and the rated a pivoting rig, it was "square and other "freestyle" moves that
type of windsurfing being underta- rigged" and suffered all the associa- cannot be matched by any sailken.ted
limitations.
boat. 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
surfers on more traditional surfboards.
Extreme waves aside,
many expert windsurfers will ride
the same waves as wavesurfers
do (wind permitting) and are
themselves usually very accomplished
without a rig on a conventional
surfoard.
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