Have you ever wondered why windsurfing has never quite attracted the
same numbers since the global boom experienced in the mid to late
eighties? Ever thought how the sport could re-ignite that same mass
interest, and once again become the fastest growing sport on the planet?
Well, one thing you can be sure of is that the design team at Starboard
have been posing themselves just such a conundrum!To discover the solution, their starting point was to look back at the shape of the sport right when it was in the midst of its explosion, with the aim of identifying what the big attraction was back then. And in doing so, they believe they've managed to realise the fundamental key to making the sport grow. Now, this may seem all too obvious, but the secret lies in . . . wait for it . . . non-planing conditions!
The cynics amongst you may well be making the odd dismissive grunt at reading this, but let's face it, when has that ever stopped Starboard pursuing their concepts, many of which have become accepted as standard throughout the industry today! But have they gone too far this time?
Listening to reason, however, it all seems to add up. Windsurfing has matured into a particularly specialist sport - you learn during the summer on a lake; progress into the harness and footstraps, experience the adrenalin of planing, become captivated and get drawn into the endless chase of pushing yourself in more extreme conditions. Before long you frnd yourself cursing the light wind summer months and longing for winter gales, irrespective of the sleet and wind chill that accompanies them. The truth is that this long winding path to planing utopia presents many hurdles along the way, and many people fall foul of them, losing interest in the sport. Windsurfing has in effect done itself out of participants by continually looking to promote ... almost impose the concept of planing euphoria, when, at the peak of its popularity during the eighties, people were attracted to the sport predominantly in a non-planing capacity, offering a way to enjoy the 1ight summer breezes on the local lake There are plenty more arguments to back the theory up (such as most locations, globally speaking, witness non-planing conditions over 80% of the time), but before this news snippet turns Into a fully fledged article, let us present Starboard's initial concept board - 'Serenity'. Designed for use in as little as 2knots, it is an extremely bizarre but very aptly named machine, cutting through the water with an eerie silence, the nose of the board dispersing the water rather than slapping the surface as a planing hull does So, is there any mileage in the concept? Well, put it this way - by now they are probably on 'Serenity' prototype number five! Want to see more people enjoying our sport? Then watch this space.