There was a time when the sight of brightly colored sails skipping across the water was a common and thrilling spectacle along coastlines worldwide. From the gusty shores of Maui to the wind tunnels of California, windsurfing wasn’t just a sport - it was a global phenomenon. Its heyday, peaking in the 1980s and early 1990s, fused athleticism with spectacle, and drew a generation of thrill-seekers to the water. What followed was a golden age of innovation, world-class competition, and a lifestyle that defined an era.

Windsurfing began with a spark of ingenuity. In 1967, Californian Jim Drake, an aerospace engineer, and surfer Henry "Hoyle" Schweitzer combined elements of sailing and surfing to create the first windsurfing board. They patented their design as the “Windsurfer” in 1968, giving birth to a sport that would soon explode in popularity. By the early 1980s, windsurfing had evolved far beyond its humble beginnings. Participation was surging, particularly in Europe and coastal areas of the United States, with millions of boards sold annually.

This era wasn’t just about recreation - it was about performance. High-wind slalom racing, wave sailing, and freestyle competitions brought in elite athletes, corporate sponsorships, and a fully-fledged pro tour that mimicked the energy and spectacle of surfing and motocross combined.

At its core, windsurfing is elegantly simple but technically demanding. The gear consists of four main components:

•  Board : The floating platform that the rider stands on. Early boards were long and heavy, often over 12 feet, with centerboards and dagger fins. As the sport progressed, boards became shorter, lighter, and discipline-specific: slalom boards for speed, wave boards for maneuverability, and freestyle boards for tricks.

•  Sail : The power source, made of lightweight monofilm or dacron. Sail sizes vary depending on wind conditions and the rider’s weight—larger sails for lighter winds, smaller for stronger gusts.

•  Mast : The vertical pole that supports the sail. Usually made of fiberglass or carbon fiber.

•  Boom : The horizontal bar that the rider holds, attached to the mast and sail, allowing control over the rig’s angle and power.

•  Fin: The skeg on the bottom side of the board, guiding and holding the board in the water.

Speed is often the goal on a sailboard, and the fins are under constant, heavy load. That means they need to be stiff. G-10, a dense, durable, and widely available industrial laminate, became a go-to material. Unlike standard hand-laid polyester fins, G-10 is heavier and much stiffer. It’s made using a thermoset prepreg panel making process, which utilizes standard woven fiberglass that is saturated with epoxy and cured using compression and high heat. This results in serious rigidity!

In surfing, that stiffness can be a downside. G-10 is too rigid in typical wave conditions, lacking the flex and response of a poly fin, because it is not under enough pressure or load. But occasionally in big waves, and especially in windsurfing, G10 is phenomenal. But George, as you’d expect, didn’t stop there - foiling stainless steel cleavers for his experimental carbon-edge boards.

Just like surfing has its Kelly Slater and snowboarding has its Shaun White, windsurfing birthed a lineup of icons who helped define the sport both athletically and culturally. Naish Sails, remains a staple in wind sports today.

If windsurfing had a Michael Jordan, it was Robby Naish. A prodigy from Kailua, Hawaii, Naish won his first world championship at age 13 in 1976. Over the next two decades, he would dominate every discipline, eventually amassing over 20 world titles. Known for his powerful wave riding, charismatic presence, and technical finesse, Naish became the face of windsurfing worldwide. His brand, Naish Sails, remains a staple in wind sports today.

Dunkerbeck, a powerhouse from the Canary Islands, was known for his slalom and speed-racing dominance. Standing 6’3” with a physique built for raw power, he brought a new level of professionalism to the sport. From the late ’80s into the ’90s, Dunkerbeck won a staggering 42 PWA (Professional Windsurfers Association) World Championships across various disciplines, including slalom, course racing, and overall titles.

A bit younger than Naish and Dunkerbeck, Frenchman Antoine Albeau carved out his legacy in the late '90s and 2000s, but he represents the last torchbearer of windsurfing’s professional golden age. A multiple-time world champion, Albeau’s consistency and technical mastery helped sustain competitive windsurfing well into the modern era.

Some places are so central to windsurfing’s legacy that their names still evoke the sting of salt spray and the flash of bright sails. Here are a few of the most iconic:

California

• Gorge Road (Isla Vista) : A gritty test track for UCSB wind junkies and R&D experiments, driven by reliable thermal winds.
• Sherman Island : Delta winds and a diehard local crew made this a slalom hotspot.
• Coyote Point : A dependable Bay Area launch that helped shape NorCal’s scene.
• Waddell Creek : One of California’s premier wave spots, mast-high surf meets northwest wind.
• Leo Carrillo : A summer thermal favorite for wave riders near Malibu.

Hawaii

• Hookipa Beach, Maui : The holy ground of wave sailing. Big surf, big wind, and legends made here.
• Kanaha Beach, Maui : Mellow counterpart to Hookipa, perfect for freeride and slalom sessions.
• The Gorge (Oregon/Washington)
  A summer pilgrimage site where upriver winds and rolling swell shaped an entire subculture. Hood River became the inland capital of windsurfing.

International

• Tarifa, Spain : Europe’s wind machine, powered by Levante and Poniente patterns.
• Lac de Serre-Ponçon & Lake Garda : Mountain-framed lakes with steady thermals and racing heritage.
• Cape Town, South Africa : Big Bay and Bloubergstrand deliver world-class cross-offshore conditions.
• Margaret River, Australia : Surf-town roots, wind-season punch.

In the 1980s and early ’90s, windsurfing wasn’t just a sport- it was a full-blown subculture. Magazines like Windsurfing, Boards, and Wind Tracks offered not just gear reviews and travel guides but chronicled the lives of pro sailors like rockstars. Instructional VHS tapes (later DVDs) by the likes of Alan Cadiz and Peter Hart were passed around like sacred texts.

Like many action sports, windsurfing’s popularity declined as quickly as it surged. By the late 1990s, kitesurfing began drawing away adrenaline seekers. The complexity and cost of windsurfing gear compared to kiting or even stand-up paddling also presented a barrier. Windsurfing shops began closing, major media coverage waned, and the sport retreated to a core group of diehards and regional scenes.

That said, windsurfing never disappeared. Foiling technology has revitalized interest in recent years, with windfoils allowing sailors to glide in light winds previously unusable with traditional boards. Freestyle competitions also remain vibrant, and wave sailing continues to push new limits.

One of our favorite foil surfers is Adam Bennetts. Absolute flow master, turning the foil setup into a surfing masterpiece!