Discover 10 Things you didn't know about Windsurfing!

Surely you already know the definition of what Windsurfing is, but we leave it here just in case, so that you read this article with fresh basic concepts: Windsurfing is a water sport that combines the characteristics of sailing and surfing. The Windsurfer uses the wind to propel himself forward with a board under his feet and fly over the water. Windsurfing is the pioneer sport within sailing boarding. It is more "authentic", more surfer. Now that you are ready, we are going to tell you 10 things about Windsurfing that can greatly surprise you:

1. How was windsurfing born? Discover its true beginnings

In the 1930s, a surfer named Tom Blake thought about how much energy he would save if, instead of paddling with his hands in search of the waves, he had the wind as an ally, and he came up with the brilliant idea of place a sail on top of the surfboard. This idea, like all great ones, as brilliant as it is simple, meant that the force of the wind would take care of all the heavy lifting. At first, the design was very rudimentary, but Tom Blake gradually improved the table design.

In 1948, Newman Darby improved upon Blake's invention when he began using a universal joint-mounted hand sail to control a small catamaran. Darby did not file a patent for his design, however he is credited as the inventor of the windsurf board.The patent for the first windsurfing board was received by Californians Jim Drake, a sailor and engineer, and Hoyle Schweitzer, a surfer, on February 25, 1969. The first boards were 3.5 m long and weighed 27 kg. It was in the 70s when windsurfing began to become very popular all over the world. The first world windsurfing championship was held in 1973, and it became an Olympic sport in 1984.

2. Antoine Albeau: The fastest windsurfer in the world

Antoine Albeau, a French national, is the fastest windsurfer to date. Chas twenty-four Windsurfing World Championships in different disciplines since 1994.The windsurfing legend improved his own record reaching almost 100 km/h in Luderitz (Namibia) in a creek built for the occasion and in the perfect water conditions in 2015. The athlete likes strong winds, monster waves and speed. Compete in race, waves and freestyle. In 2001 he was champion in the French national. He has been a national champion 10 times since the beginning of his career. That same year, he was Freestyle World Champion.

In this way, born on June 17, 1972 in La Rochelle (France), Albeau established a new world sailing speed record in all categories on March 5, 2008 with 49.09 knots (90.91 km/h or 56.49 mph) in the Saintes Maries de la Mer Speed ​​Channel, beating the previous record that had been set by Finian Maynard with a speed of 48.70 knots in April 2005 at the same location.

As we mentioned earlier, in November 2012 she bettered it with a new record of 52.05 knots (96.34 km/h-59.9 mph) in the Luderitz Channel, Namibia. And, in October 2008, Antoine Albeau successfully completed a cross-channel windsurf from Cherbourg, France, to Sandbanks, Poole; a 75 nautical mile (138 kilometer) journey that lasted just over 6 hours.

3. Björn Dunkerbeck: The athlete with the most titles in the world.

Björn Dunkerbeck is the windsurfer with the most world titles under his belt. He has been a 42-time world windsurfing champion in the slalom, freestyle, speed and overall categories. At 51, no one has yet won more titles in any sport than him. He is still the fastest man in the water.

The half-Danish, half-Dutch windsurfer has become a legend, not only because of his technique in the sport, but also because of his talent, his determination and his passion for windsurfing. (The Search, which consists of finding places on planet Earth especially suitable for windsurfing).

Liam Dunkerbeck, son of the world champion, is not far behind either, following closely in his father's footsteps. He has won several junior titles in the Under-12, Under-14, Under-16 and Under-17 surfing categories, but seems to lean more towards windsurfing, taking first place at the PWA Youth Wave World Cup in September 2020 ( Under-17), in Noerstick, Cold Hawaii (Denmark). He aspires to be senior world champion.

4. Do you know who was the first woman to get on a Windsurf board?

The first woman to get on a surfboard was none other than the wife of Newman Darby (creator of the current windsurfing board), Naomi Darby, who is considered the first woman to windsurf in the history. On a deep lake at the foot of a mountain in eastern Pennsylvania, Newman Darby began manipulating the sail and managed to keep his balance, aided by the wind, on the large plank lying under his feet. This invention, which he called a “sailboard”, was born from the inspiration of watching his wife navigate a nice little boat that she was standing on, and which she navigated leaning towards the direction she wanted to go. Naomi was a canoeist and photography student. When Newman thought of some new sailboard arrangement they were creating together, she was the one to test it. In the words of the couple, Naomi never fell off the board. Newman and Naomi Darby described their invention in their article The Birth of Windsurfing:

"Newman Darby discovered that she could steer a conventional 10-foot sailboat by tilting it back and forth enough to make turns even without a rudder. It was then (in the late 1940s) that Newman became interested in steering a ship without a rudder. Various sailboats and 2 1/ Two decades later (1964) he designed the first universal joint to go along with a flat-bottomed sail blade. This sailboard was fitted with a universal joint mast, daggerboard, tail fin and kite-shaped freesail and thus windsurfing was born."

5. If you haven't heard of the Red Bull Storm Chase, you definitely need to know what it is!

The Red Bull Storm Chase is the toughest windsurfing event in the world. It is held in very violent weather conditions, in which windsurfers are forced to push the limits of the sport and of themselves managing 130km/h winds, 14 meter waves and flying higher than ever over the sea.

This race does not have a specific location, the competitors and the team wait for a force 10 storm to hit somewhere on the planet. That's when the battle begins. Let's not forget that this happens at about 4 degrees of temperature. Achieving victory is not an easy task.

The windsurfer must first be excellent at what is called “survival surfing” the next step is to impress the judges with the power, technique and height of the jumps. Jaeger Stone was the winner of the last Red Bull Storm Chase, which took place in Ireland in 2019.

6. Lancelin Ocean Classic: The Longest Windsurfing Marathon

The Lancelin Ocean Classic Windsurfing Marathon has been held annually since 1986 in Lancelin, Australia. It is considered something like the "Fashion Week" of windsurfers. The best in the world attend this event every year to compete for the first prize in this marathon that is about 25 kilometers long.

Lancelin, located 130 km north of Perth, is famous for its wind and waves. Undoubtedly a very popular spot for windsurfing because this small coastal city in Australia hosts this great sporting event every summer.

There are currently three major ocean slalom marathons in the world: The Defi-Wind in France, the Lancelin Ocean Classic in Western Australia, and the Hatterass Marathon in the United States.

However, within the Ocean Slalom Marathons category, the Australian race is the most challenging and longest in windsurfing today!

7. Defi Wind: The most crowded race in the world

Seventeen years ago, Fred Monin, Philippe Bru and the editor-in-chief of the French windsurfing magazine WIND, Gilles Debrix, had the momentous idea to create the Defi Win.

It was something revolutionary, since the slalom races that had been held during the last 10 years were not characterized by their originality or dynamism. The simple concept was born when two buoys were installed. One in Gruissan and another about 10 kilometers away in Port La Nouvelle.

The structure has not changed in 17 years, but the number of participants has increased enormously.

During the last decade it has grown in such a way that today it is considered the largest windsurfing event in the world, hosting 1,200 athletes who compete in this event.

The spirit of the Gruissan Defi Wind is to bring surfers and fans together in a single starting line around the passion for windsurfing. The race consists of four sections of approximately 5 km each, making a total of 20, and normally, the tramontana wind complicates things.

8. Windsurfing in the snow? The answer is yes!

A group of windsurfers, kiteboarders and snowboarders participated in a unique stunt that combined different sports in the stunning snowy landscape of the Engadin mountains in Switzerland.

Project X is unique in the world and represents a combination of different sports in a spectacular snowy landscape in the Engadin mountains of Switzerland. Windsurfing in powder snow along with speedriding, snowboarding and snowkiting.

Levi Siver from Maui and Balz Müller from Biel in Switzerland draw the "X" on the slopes of pristine powder snow in the Engadin mountains. Windsurfing legend Levi Siver is one of the best big wave windsurfers in the world.

His mastery of sailing and boarding to face the waves at sea have made him a world reference in the sport. His partner, the Swiss Müller is a pioneer in the sport of foiling. He is the current windsurf foil world champion and won the Wing Foil World Cup in Tarifa earlier this year.

9. Did you know that Tarifa is the Mecca of European Windsurfing?

Although for many specialists the beaches of the Canary Islands are like the European windsurfing Hawaii. Tarifa, on the Iberian Peninsula, is another of the meccas for practicing this sport. This is because the chances of there being wind in Tarifa, Levante or Poniente, are high at any time of the year. The fame of the “city of the wind” grew like foam and many professional riders and a large part of the windsurfing industry moved to this small Andalusian town. The Cadiz town is located in the southernmost point of Europe, about 14 kilometers from Africa, so it takes advantage of the winds from the Strait of Gibraltar.

In Tarifa we find beaches such as Playa Chica, which is the most exposed to the easterly winds that enter the peninsula. It is a beach for experienced windsurfers since the risk of going out on the rocks is high to very high. Another important beach in the town is Valdevaqueros, which is the place with the greatest projection of riders. It is an ideal beach for all levels of training. Near the dune, the well-known Tarifa thermal wind is formed due to the contrast between the hot dune and the colder water. To find out which beach to go to for Windsurfing or Kitesurfing in Tarifa, there are very practical online tools that are very helpful when it comes to going out to sea. Windsurfers and kitesurfers use WindGuru a lot to find out about the Levante and Poniente wind in Tarifa, and thus decide which beach to go to each day.

10. Discover the most interesting spots for windsurfing around the world

The best spots for Windsurfing deserve to be explored. It doesn't matter if you travel with friends, family, or alone. Any excuse is good to discover them.

• Bonaire is ideal for windsurfing. You will find crystalline waters, pleasant breezes, white sand and impressive sites that you will not be able to forget. Every windsurfer should live this Caribbean experience, at least once in their life.
• For many, Maui is the windsurfing mecca of the world. The waves on this island are worth it despite the number of sharks.
• Fuerteventura, in the Canary Islands, is another paradise for windsurfing, accompanied by an incredibly arid setting.
• Karpathos, in Greece. Another excellent choice. It has strong winds and there is a lot of surfer and windsurfer atmosphere.

The sun and the wind are the dream conditions for any windsurfer. In Guincho, Portugal, these conditions are a reality. The beach is wide and beautiful. You can go chasing speed or simply ride the waves and let yourself flow at a point in the immensity of the ocean. In this spot there is room for everyone.

Windsurfing is a sport that, in addition to giving you strength, adrenaline and good physical condition, takes you to the most intimate point of connection with nature. It makes you travel, discover new cultures and live in harmony with the sea and the waves. Understanding the wind is something that only these great athletes are capable of doing. What do you think, do you dare?