Extreme Sports Catching the Wind with a Wind Surfer

Wind surfing has been around for a few decades and has been a popular sport along the beaches of the United States and the world.  Recently the sport has entered the ranks of extreme sports because some riders has taken the sport to the next level and have moved from the quiet bays and lakes into the surf.  Living up to its name this extreme sport has been taken up a notch by actually tackling heavy surf head on.  The sail added to the surf board allows the board to actually leave the water and jump the wave.  The wind surfer can jump to an incredible height this and the added speed makes wind surfing one of the most exciting extreme sports.

The board used on a wind surfer is usually about six to fifteen feet long. The sail and mast is located in the middle of the board hooked to a universal joint that allows the sail to move in 360 degrees.  Unlike a traditional sail boat, steering is mastered by tilting the board in one direction or the other.  The cut of the board into the water causes the board to veer in opposite direction.  Extreme sports enthusiasts have added modified boards by trimming the edges and shortening the width.  They also modify the sails by making them more streamlined and easier to control.

The sports combine both surfing and sailing. When there is a lot of wind, a windsurfer can go faster than most sailing craft.  A wind surfer has even broken the record for speed on the water compared to sailboats or other sail driven boats. Wind surfing has many competitions that combines the extreme aspect of speed along with the tricks associated with skateboarding and snow boarding. These competitions include slalom, wave sailing, super X, and speed sailing.  The competitions are judged by style, speed, and tricks.  The moves and tricks that are attained by a wind surfer cannot be duplicated on any other sailing craft because of the size of the board and the lightness of the entire wind surfer.

Extreme sports demand speed to be classified as one and the wind surfer can be operational in winds up to fifty knots.  This is fine if there is no maneuvering involved because the high wind would cut down the ability to turn easily.  You still can maintain a great speed and be able to maneuver in winds around twenty knots.  Even with a light breeze you can get up enough speed to enjoy a leisurely ride across the bay or ocean.

You can learn how to wind surf by taking lessons.  This is the best way to start off, but you can teach yourself.  Just make sure the wind speed is low and that you stay close to shore the first few tries. There has be cases of riders being taken out to sea because they did not know how to turn and they were afraid to jump off.  It takes a lot of practice to master wave jumping and other extreme sports that are associated with wind surfing.  Remember to start out small and build up to the jumps and tricks that the professionals do.