In August 1965, the American inventor S. Newman Darby introduced a new water sport in the magazine “Popular Science”. Under the name ‘sailboarding’, he described an innovative concept of sailing on a flat board that required no rudder at all – a precursor to windsurfing. Paul van Bellen posted some screenshots of the original article, which had been unearthed by Bruce Matlack, the first world champion windsurfer.
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According to the article, Darby’s aim was to make the thrill of sailing accessible to a wide range of people without the high purchase and running costs associated with a traditional sailing boat. The ‘Sailboard’ stood out for its remarkable versatility. Not only could it be used as a sailing craft in its own right, but it could also be towed behind a motorboat or simply used as a floating platform for sunbathing.
The main differences from modern windsurfing were the mast base, the boom (which was not yet forked) and the standing position: rather than being firmly attached to the board, the rig was simply placed in a recess at the rear. The ‘surfer’ himself stood in front of the rig with his back to the sail, and was thus propelled along. The whole rig was held in place by a sort of grip bar on the leeward side of the sail. Shortly afterwards, Jim Drake and Hoyle Schweitzer developed the boom and the flexible mast base joint, which became the core of the infamous patent and made modern windsurfing a huge success.
Anyone who wanted to have a go at sailboarding had to be a good swimmer
In his article in *Popular Science*, S. Newman Darby not only describes the design of his invention, but also offers some practical tips for anyone who wants to give it a go: For beginners, jibing downwind is the easiest way to change direction, as the wind pushes the board from behind and there is no risk of a heavy boom swinging sideways. Tacking into the wind, on the other hand, requires more skill, but results in less loss of speed. A distinctive feature of the kite-like rig was what was known as ‘box hauling’. In this manoeuvre, inspired by old tall ships, the board is positioned directly into the wind and the sail is tilted backwards, allowing the sailor to sail backwards in order to tack in the tightest of spaces.
Good swimming skills were essential for sailboarding, as falling into the water was an integral part of the learning process. To avoid injury, Darby advised simply letting go of the sail and jumping off the board if you felt you were about to lose your balance. When lying in the water, the sail acted as a sea anchor, preventing the board from drifting away. The rig remained connected to the hull at all times via a safety line.
Incidentally, in 1982 an Englishman claimed that he had come up with the basic idea for windsurfing as early as 1958. However, there was no evidence to support this, and despite support from industry, which saw a way out of the patent dispute, the case was dismissed in court (see surf 7/1982)
