Sailboarding
Sailboarding, also called boardsailing and windsurfing, has grown from obscurity to full Olympic status within 20 years. It is a mix of surfing and sailing, and its appeal is that it is relatively inexpensive, easy to play, and flexible.Most sailboarders cartop their sailboards to wherever the wind best suits their level of skill, and in perhaps 30 minutes can assemble them and be in the water. Changing sail size keeps sails manageable over a wide range of wind strengths. Some people also like the social side of the sport.
History
The invention of sailboarding is a most controversial aspect of the sport,with claimants in the United States, England, and Australia.Wherever its origins, the sport grew slowly in California and very quickly in Europe in the 1970s. Because the sport was new, board designs changed swiftly to test the limits of the possible. In 1977, Larry Stanley developed footstraps while sailing Hawaii’s big waves. Footstraps, along with shorter boards,made aerial maneuvers possible.
Unfortunately, stability and flotation decreased as board length and maneuverability increased, and expert-end boards became so small they sank when stationary. The 1980s brought funboards that tried to combine the best of both. This backfired in one sense; mass numbers of sailboarders began trying to perfect advanced techniques: water starting (using the wind to pull the sailor up and out of the water and into the sailing position), footsteering, and various turning maneuvers. High-performance boards have fully battened sails (sails with fiberglass strips inserted into pockets stretching from the leech,or back edge of the sail, to the mast); its semi-permanent curve makes it behave more like an airplane wing, and the airfoil shape increases speed.Harnesses, first designed to fit around the chest
and later to support to the hips, compensate for limited arm strength.
A mast is attached to a board via a universal joint. This makes the rig (mast, sail, and boom) movable in any direction. The sailor stands and supports the rig by holding onto a wishbone-shaped boom and steers by adjusting sail position and shifting weight on the board.
Rules and Play
Sailboarders need board, sail, mast, and boom, plus a wetsuit in all but the warmest water.
Beginners first learn to balance on the board before adding the sail.For the easiest start, the board should be positioned across the wind with the mast pointing away from the wind. The sailor stands on the board and slowly pulls the rig up from the water (called uphauling) until the boom is reached. Steering is performed by raking the rig. Leaning it back pivots the boat more toward the wind, and leaning it forward turns the boat away from the wind. Carry either of these maneuvers on long enough, and the board will eventually turn completely around; the former is called coming about, the latter jibing. More advanced sailboarders let the wind pull them up, out of the water, and into sailing position (waterstarting) and steer by banking the board with their feet.
Sailboards are categorized by design. Some are designed for racing, in which competitors jockey for position at the starting gun (or start off the beach) and then sail around a series of buoys in a predetermined order and direction.Rules are based upon sailing rules. Division I boards are flat bottomed; division II boards have round bottoms. One-design classes feature identical boards. There are also slalom races and marathon events; the most notable marathon occurred in 1981–1982 when a Frenchman, Christian Marty, sailed across the Atlantic Ocean from Dakar, Senegal, to Cayenne, French Guiana, eating and sleeping on board.
Olympic sailboarding for men and women was first held at the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles, with 38 countries participating.Another major sailboarding competition is the Pan Am Cup sailed off the Hawaiian island of Oahu.
Speed sailing is another branch of the sport, and sailboards have held the world speed record for all forms of sailing craft.
Other sailboards are designed for freestyle sailing, in which performers attempt very intricate maneuvers. Sailboard jumping, both competitive and recreational, is a branch of freestyle. People now sail indoors, using jet engines to provide wind, and there is a professional indoor circuit. The sailboard principle is also used for both ice and land versions of the sport.
Tandem sailboards, with two sails and two sailors, as well as three-sailed tridems, also exist; for both, sailors must cooperate completely to steer. The sport demands more balance and skill than pure strength, and men and women of all ages enjoy the sport in its many variations.
