WINDSURFING A NEW CONCEPT IN SAILING
by
James R. Drake
The RAND Corporation
1700 Main Street, Santa Monica
California 90406
INTRODUCTION
In ancient times and up to the point where steam propulsion became dominant, speed under sail had entirely practical consequences. Commercial shipping costs usually reduced as speeds increased, and in naval ships, speed added to strategic and tactical mobility. However, in recent times where sails are used almost exclusively on pleasure craft, the need for speed under sail is entirely subjective. That is, the speed of a boat is judged to be high or low, not explicit in economy or military terms but rather in the mind of the skipper - usually with reference to another boat of similar characteristics. Contemporary sailboats are actually quite slow compared to the faster of their forerunners. Put another way, the pleasure of sailing comes from the sensation of creating speed rather than the actual speed itself.
This thought is not particularly new, and it certainly has not diminished the pleasure and, as a consequence, popularity of sailing. Other factors have a far greater dampening influence on the sport of sailing. Principal among these are: (1) the high cost of owning and operating a boat and (2) the inconvenience of handling, maintaining, storing, launching, and landing. It would seem desirable, therefore, if a sailboat could be devised which would have the cost and handling characteristics of snow skis and surfboards and still retain or improve the features which are primarily responsible for the great popularity of sailing, namely, high (subjective) speed and close individual participation.
A new concept in sailing - called windsurfing - has been developed ( and patented) which satisfies these requirements to a far greater degree than any currently available sailing craft. The purpose of this paper is to introduce this new concept and to explain some of the technical factors which led to its successful development. This new concept grew out of conversations beginning in 1961 with Fred A. Payne Jr., Vice President of Technical Operations, Martin Marietta Corpopration, Orlando. Successful development has been possible throught the help of Hoyle Schweitzer of Legal Billing Systems, Inc. and Alan Parducci, Professor Psychology, UCLA. David T. Griggs, Professor of Geophysics, UCLA, and Professor Parducci have been a great help in preparing this manuscript.
