Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer, uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitable for surfing are primarily found on ocean shores, but can also be found as standing waves in the open ocean, in lakes, in rivers in the form of a tidal bore, or wave pools.
Boardsports are active outdoor sports that are played with any sort of board as the primary equipment. These sports take place on a variety of terrains, from paved flat-ground and snow-covered hills to water and air. Most boardsports are considered action sports or extreme sports, and thus often appeal to youth. Some board sports were marginalized in the past. However, many board sports are gaining mainstream recognition, and with this recognition, they have gotten wider broadcasting, sponsorship and inclusion in institutional sporting events, including the Olympic Games.
A surfboard is a narrow plank used in surfing. Surfboards are relatively light, but are strong enough to support an individual standing on them while riding an ocean wave. They were invented in ancient Hawaii, where they were known as papa heʻe nalu in the Hawaiian language, and were usually made of wood from local trees, such as koa. They were often over 460 cm (15 ft) in length and extremely heavy. Major advances over the years include the addition of one or more fins (skegs) on the bottom rear of the board to improve directional stability, and numerous improvements in materials and shape.
Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, snow, sand, or other surface. It combines the aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and wakeboarding. Kiteboarding is among the less expensive and more convenient sailing sports.
Windsurfing is a wind-propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the Californian aerospace and surf culture. Windsurfing gained a popular following across Europe and North America by the late 1970s and had achieved significant global popularity by the 1980s. Windsurfing became an Olympic sport in 1984.
Laird John Hamilton is an American big-wave surfer, co-inventor of tow-in surfing, and an occasional fashion and action-sports model and actor. He is married to Gabrielle Reece, a former professional volleyball player, television personality, and model.
A foilboard, also known as a hydrofoil board or foil surfboard, is a type of board used in water sports; it is distinct from surfboards in that it has a hydrofoil rather than fins mounted underneath. This hydrofoil design allows the surfboard and its rider to rise above the water’s surface, allowing for fast speeds and increased maneuverability in a wide range of surf conditions. Foilboards are becoming increasingly popular across many water sports, including surfing, kiteboarding, windsurfing, and wakeboarding. Foilboards have also been used in competitions, with riders reaching speeds of up to 30 km/h while performing acrobatic maneuvers such as flips and twists.
Speed sailing is the art of sailing a craft as fast as possible over a predetermined route, and having its overall or peak speed recorded and accredited by a regulatory body. The term usually refers to sailing on water, even though sailing on land and ice is progressively faster because of the lower friction involved. The World Sailing Speed Record Council is the body authorized by the World Sailing to confirm speed records of sailing craft on water.
Jeff Clark is one of the most noteworthy big-wave surfers, famous for surfing Mavericks alone for 15 years before it was widely discovered by the big-wave surfing community.
Robert Staunton Naish is an American athlete and entrepreneur who has won 24 World Championship Windsurfing titles. He is also considered a pioneer of kiteboarding and standup paddleboarding.
Paddleboarding is a water sport in which participants are propelled by a swimming motion using their arms while lying or kneeling on a paddleboard or surfboard in the ocean or other body of water. Paddleboarding is usually performed in the open ocean, with the participant paddling and surfing unbroken swells to cross between islands or journey from one coastal area to another.
Dave Kalama is a big wave surfer/tow-in surfer, stand-up paddle (SUP) surfer and racer, surf and SUP board shaper, windsurfer, outrigger canoe racer, private adventure guide, and celebrity watersports enthusiast. Kalama, his wife, 2 sons and 1 daughter live in Kula, Maui.
Woodbridge "Woody" Parker Brown (1912–2008) was an American surfer and watercraft designer best known for inventing the modern catamaran. He was also instrumental in promoting the growth of surfing in the mainland United States; among his accomplishment in surfboard shaping was an early fin design.
Standup paddleboarding (SUP) is a water sport born from surfing with modern roots in Hawaii. Standup paddleboarders stand on boards that are floating on the water and use a paddle to propel themselves through the water. The sport was documented in a 2013 report that identified it as the outdoor sporting activity with the most first-time participants in the United States that year. Variations include flat water paddling, racing, surfing, whitewater SUP, yoga, and fishing.
Jim Drake was an American aeronautical engineer who is widely credited with the invention of the sport of Windsurfing. He patented his windsurfing concept in 1968. Drake conceptualized, designed and hand built the first board and articulating sail rig prototype in his garage. He started the sport's first company, Windsurfing International. He produced multiple championship winning windsurfing board designs throughout his career, as well as created a popular offshoot of windsurfing with the world's first un-masted wing sail. Drake would go on to become an altruistic figure head for the sport he pioneered over the course of his lifetime.
Pascal Maka is a French windsurfer, who broke the outright speed sailing record in 1986, and again in 1990.
A surfboard fin or skeg is a hydrofoil mounted at the tail of a surfboard or similar board to improve directional stability and control through foot-steering. Fins can provide lateral lift opposed to the water and stabilize the board's trajectory, allowing the surfer to control direction by varying their side-to-side weight distribution. The introduction of fins in the 1930s revolutionized surfing and board design. Surfboard fins may be arrayed in different numbers and configurations, and many different shapes, sizes, and materials are and have been made and used.
Christian Bornemann is a German Windsurfer. He held 2014–2018 the German speed record over 500-meter, and since 2018 the German speed record over the nautical mile and is one of the twenty fastest windsurfers in the world.
Wing foiling or wing surfing or winging is a wind propelled water sport that developed from kitesurfing, windsurfing and surfing. The sailor, standing on a board, holds directly onto a wing. It generates both upward force and sideways propulsion and thus moves the board across the water. The recent development of foilboards, which plane very early on a hydrofoil fin and thereby lift off the water producing low friction, represent the ideal complementary hydrodynamic platform for wings.