Sailboard

Sailboard

Noun · /ˈseɪlbɔːd/ · a surfboard fitted with a mast and sail, used in windsurfing

Definition

A sailboard is a flat buoyant board — resembling a surfboard — fitted with a single mast and a hand-held boom that supports a sail. The rider stands on the board, holds the boom, and uses wind power and body weight to steer and propel the craft across water. Sailboarding is the activity; windsurfing is the common synonym. The sport sits between sailing and surfing: it requires the physical balance and agility of surfing combined with the wind-reading skill of sailing. Competitive sailboarding has featured in the Olympic Games since 1984.

Origin

Sailboard is a compound of sail (from Old English segl, of Germanic origin) and board (Old English bord, meaning a plank or flat surface). The compound emerged in the late 1960s alongside the invention of the sport itself. Californian Hoyle Schweitzer and Jim Drake are widely credited with patenting the first windsurfer design in 1968, and the word sailboard entered general use alongside the explosion in popularity of the sport during the 1970s and 1980s.