What is an all-around sailor? Can you rig, sail all points of sailing, and tack and jibe a:
___ Laser?
___ Keelboat with spinnaker?
___ Optimist?
___ Windsurfer?
___ Catamaran?
If you can check all of the above then you are an all-around sailor, like the all-around gymnast that works every event or the decathlete in track & field. If you think you can basically sail all ten of the Olympic one-design classes but are unable to sail a windsurfer, then you’re immediately astern because Men’s and Women’s Windsurfing comprise 20% of the Olympic sailing events.
If you love to hear the hull “hum” on a Laser, then you’ll find that sailing “hooked in” with your feet in the straps on a windsurfer – while going much faster – delivers an even greater buzz. What sailboat can you jump, pivot, twist, carve, or do flips with? What sailboat has no stays, tiller, rudder or seat? Do you want to represent the USA at the Olympics or the Worlds sailing? Well, your chances of doing so on a windsurfer are much better than in any other class. So, become an all-around sailor...learn to sail on a windsurfer!
Youth windsurfing is huge worldwide, with 300 13- to 17- year-olds competing at the Techno 293 Worlds at Weymouth, England last August. Holy Cow! The USA, however, is approximately ten years behind other countries in producing windsurfers who are competitive at international youth regattas. Do we want to be 20 years behind?
Why are yacht clubs and sailing centers in the USA not producing windsurfers with abilities equal to Opti and Laser sailors? Is there burnout in our junior sailing efforts? If so, is it because youngsters in most programs have no choices other than the traditional “Optis to Lasers or 420s” mold? Some programs buy windsurfing gear, pray for a windsurfing instructor, and then hope! Others have a “one-year wonder” program. That’s not it! What they really need is to first create a three- to five-year plan with a “windsurfing team” that will organize, get educated, actually learn windsurfing, and lead the club into producing real windsurfers who become instructors, race, travel to events and love the sport.
Why not give kids coming into sailing more options after they master the basics, as in European programs? Younger sailors could mix dinghy and windsurfer racing with freestyle and fun stuff (the O’pen Bic “Un-Regattas” are exemplary), and progress to full-on Laser, 420/Pixel (and windsurfer!) racing.
We desperately need to grow windsurfing instructors from the ranks of Level I Small Boat Instructors. US SAILING offers a new two-day “Beginning Windsurfer Instructor” course that will teach certified Level I Small Boat Instructors how to windsurf. This is definitely a learn-by-doing course, covering the 11 basics of windsurfing. (Besides, to be an all-around sailor you need to be able to windsurf!) The course costs $200 and candidates have to bring a shorty wetsuit, PFD, and beach or windsurfing booties. That’s $50 per 1/2 day of instruction! The 6- to 8-student course will be conducted at sailing centers that have one quality modern windsurfer per candidate and sailing rigs ready to go.
Three courses are scheduled so far, at Duxbury Bay Maritime School in Duxbury, MA (June 12 & 13), American Yacht Club in Rye, NY (June 16 & 17) and Stonington Harbor Yacht Club in Stonington, CT (June 19 & 20), with another tentatively scheduled at Hyannis Yacht Club in Hyannis, MA. By becoming a Beginning Windsurfer Instructor you can command a good job at a club or sailing center and also give private lessons. You can find the details online at training.ussailing.org/Teaching/ WSIcertif/BegWSI.htm.
Currently, the clubs and sailing centers from New York to Boston using BIC Techno 293 One Designs are Port Washington YC (Port Washington, NY), American YC, Orienta Beach Club (Mamaroneck, NY), The Belle Haven Club (Greenwich, CT), Centerport YC (Centerport, NY), Seawanhaka Corinthian YC (Oyster Bay, NY), Sea Cliff YC (Sea Cliff, NY), Shelter Island YC (Shelter Island, NY), Stonington Harbor YC, Camp Fuller (Wakefield, RI), Bourne Community Boating (Bourne, MA), Hyannis YC, Chatham YC (Chatham, MA), Community Boating Boston, Sail Martha’s Vineyard and Vineyard Haven YC. Bravo! Who will get the most Level I instructors to do the new two-day Windsurfer Instructor course? Who’ll get a local event going? Let’s get ‘em organized and up to the Techno 293 Nationals, which will be hosted by Vineyard Haven YC August 3 - 5.
Here are the key components of a successful windsurfing program:
* A dedicated organizational team.
* Trained instructors that are sailors who can windsurf. A team of two instructors is best.
* A practicable windsurfing safety plan.
* Coach boats to get windsurfers out to the wind.
* Short-, mid- and long-term windsurfing goals.
* Top quality boards and rigs.
* Simple storage for boards and rigs.
* Group and private lessons for kids and adults.
* A desire to learn from programs in other countries.
* An honest assessment of your windsurfing strengths and weaknesses before, during and after initiation, using a windsurfing consultant.
* Participation (multi-generational, preferably) in local, regional and national regattas as well as non-competitive, fun events.
* An understanding that Men’s and Women’s windsurfing is an Olympic sport (20% of the Olympic classes) and that windsurfing regattas are huge in Europe and elsewhere, and that freestyle windsurfing is a fantastic alternative to racing.
Parents who windsurf and do fun races and events will enhance the whole effort. Non-existent windsurfing elements are addressed initially, continually, and annually until a fun, successful total windsurfing program is second nature at the club or sailing center. Fun events, regattas, freestyle and travel are part of each member’s windsurfing.
How does windsurfing make better all-around sailors? Look no further than World Championship and Olympic sailing rosters. Many top dinghy and keelboat sailors cross-train with windsurfing to hone their sense of the wind, improve balance, and develop better wave negotiation. It’s also a whole lot of fun...and it sure beats the gym! Here are some prominent U.S. sailors who can windsurf (listed alphabetically with some career highlights):
Ed Baird- America’s Cup skipper, Rolex Yachtsman of the Year
Kevin Burnham- Olympic gold medal (470), Rolex Yachtsman of the Year
Paul Foerster- Olympic gold medal (470), Rolex Yachtsman of the Year
Jens Hookanson- J/24 World Champion
Anthony Kotoun- J/24 World Champion
Morgan Larson- 505 World Champion, 49er North American Champion
Cam Lewis- Finn Gold Cup Champion, Rolex Yachtsman of the Year
Jonathan McKee- Olympic gold & bronze medals (FD & 49er)
Charlie McKee- Olympic silver & bronze medals (470 & 49er)
Mark Mendelblatt- Laser North American Champion, Bacardi Cup winner
Keith Notary- Olympic silver medal (Tornado), multihull designer
Mark Reynolds- Olympic gold medal (Star), Rolex Yachtsman of the Year
Randy Smyth- Olympic silver medal (Tornado), Rolex Yachtsman of the Year
Windsurfing makes learning to sail easier, because a student feels the dynamics of sailing hands-on...literally, and it teaches these basic skills that make better sailors:
* An intuitive understanding of properly balancing of center of effort and center of lateral resistance, and steering without a rudder
* Luffing and sheeting in for more power, as well as proper airflow over a sail versus oversheeting/stalling
* Feeling the wind force and hiking out against that sail force
* More advanced steering, planing and riding waves
* Safety and comfort on – and in – the water and the importance of staying with your vessel
Windsurfing also builds confidence. Give a new sailor just an hour of fun playing around on a board, falling in, getting wet (and realizing that he or she hasn’t drowned), then put them in an Opti. Chances are strong that they won’t be fearful of capsizing. Instructors are often impressed that, in many cases, kids learn how to sail on a windsurfer more easily than in a dinghy.
How affordable is windsurfing? Do the math! For $12,544, your program can purchase eight Techno 293 One Designs with 12 different, interchangeable rigs. Compare that to $21,600 for eight Optis, $43,840 for eight Lasers or $65,280 for eight Club 420s. It’s fantastic to see the national growth of windsurfing. To learn more, see teamusa-windsurfing.blogspot.com.
I speak from three years experience on the yacht club scene and 42 years in physical education and coaching in gymnastics, rock climbing, skiing and windsurfing. I’m just an old farm boy from New Jersey, retired and living on the Hudson River, who has owned a Laser, Flying Scot, and now owns a multitude of windsurfers. As a current US SAILING Windsurfing Instructor Trainer, I’m ready to help. Sailing is a super sport – let’s make windsurfing part of every sailing program. Feel free to contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 914-299-7552. ✦
Ned Crossley lives in Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY. He was wearing a drysuit when we called to ask him to write this article, having just come in from enjoying a 25-knot day on the Hudson...and he wrote it between shred sessions at Cape Hatteras!
