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Windsurfing is an aquatic surface sport that can be practised both in the ocean and lakes (like Garda at Brenzone) and consists in moving on the water surface on a small board thanks to the thrust provided by the wind on the sail. The rig is connected to the board by a free-rotating flexible joint on a mast, held and controlled by the windsurfer. Windsurfing is also an Olympic discipline and represents the maximum synthesis of a sailboat and can be considered a combination of a (sailing) boat and an (air) glider, because you glide along the water surface like a vehicle which flies through two elements with different density, while the sail is driven by the air, while gliding is through the water.

The two most common windsailing manoeuvres are turns and jibes, which are basic manoeuvres to change direction and they consist in quickly moving the sail towards the bow or stern of the board. For take off, the surfer first steps on the board and pulls the sail towards the body. Alternatively, you use the wind to keep the rig (sail) in the direction of navigation and then step onto the board in shallow water (beach start) or in the sea (water start). Since there is no rudder, the surfer needs to work with the inclination angle of the mast in order to control the surf board. To be able to luff, this is turning the bow into the wind in order to pick up speed and to sail close to the wind, the centre of gravity of the sail needs to be shifted towards the stern, thus the mast needs to be inclined towards the bow. To bear away, this means the opposite manoeuvre and consists in shifting the stern to the wind, the mast is inclined to the front towards the bow. These indications are valid during the planing mode (displacement mode sailing). With increasing speed, and depending on which board model is used (there are boards which reach the hydrodynamic balance earlier or later, depending on the speed) and on the correct calibration of the pressure on the board itself, the surfer reaches the status of gliding during which the changes in direction is done by slightly incling the board with the feet. The feet are inside the foot straps at the stern of the board while planning and the rig is kept in a fixed position, rather inclined behind the board, in order to achieve a better distribution of weights and to guarantee overall better aerodynamics. When planing, the board can reach a relatively high speed, considering that we are talking about a water sports activity.

DISCIPLINES OF WINDSURFING (Specialties) ON BRENZONE - GARDA LAKE
A first classification of windsurf boards can be done on the basis of the volume, which follows directly the Archimedes’ law of displacement and depends on the maximum weight that the board can bear due to its buoyancy force. Obviously, the smaller the board is, the smaller its volume will be. A board with a bigger volume will reach the planing mode even with lighter winds. There are various disciplines in windsurfing: the ‘freestyle’ comprises spectacular and complex manoeuvres, done with an almost flat sea (good surface conditions). With the ‘wave’, the athlete mixes both sports activities (wave) surfing and windsurfing, he surfs and jumps over breaking waves. This discipline may represent the most spectacular one because it enables the athlete to make significant jumps and to complete so-called ‘tricks’ completely out of the water. Talking about the classical ‘race’ means to navigate a predefined course in the shortest period of time and to reach the finish line first. The ‘supercross’ is a competition which has developed recently and like the ‘race’, the athlete wins who reaches the finish line first, but while circling around the buoys the athlete has to perform some freestyle manoeuvres. With the discipline ‘speed’ some athletes with considerable physical skills compete against each other, and the winner is who will complete the leg in the shortest period of time with very flat surface conditions. Speeds up to 45 knots are reached. The world record with a sail driven vessel is in fact held by a windsurfer, who has reached a maximum speed of 48,7 knots.

HISTORY OF WINDSURFING BRENZONE GARDA LAKE
Windsurfing derived in 1967 from an idea by James R. Drake who, on the motorway San Bernardino close to Los Angeles, thought about surfing as well without waves. For this purpose, he used a sail which he connected to the already diffused (wave) surf boards via a universal joint in order to control the board in a standing position. At the beginning, materials such as wood and sailcloth (as for sailing boats) were used and some ropes for water vehicles.