Surf Today Windsurfing

Alexandros Kalpogiannakis and Enora Tanne have taken out the 2019 Techno 293 Plus World Championships, in Praia da Rocha, Portimao, Portugal.

The event got underway in the sunny and warm Algarve region where Atlantic winds and swells sweep in across breathtaking white sand beaches.

The men's competition was entirely dominated by a young Greek sailor. Kalpogiannakis stormed the regatta field by winning nearly all races.

Philip Soltysiak announced the retirement from professional competitive windsurfing.

The 31-year-old windsurfer from Toronto, Canada, is dropping out of the 2019 PWA World Tour after 12 seasons and seven Top 10 finishes.

Phil Soltysiak started sailing on an Original Windsurfer in Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, in 1995. Since then, he never stopped training and polishing his skills.

The 2019 RS:X Windsurfing European and Youth European Championships & Open Trophy closed with four scintillating medal races held in near perfect conditions in Mallorca, Spain.

For the 333 competitors coming from 41 different nations and covering six continents taking part in the final race of the event, it was a short postponement ashore before a perfect 12-15 knots filled in for the medal races.

As the breeze built, the race officers decided to use the reaching start courses which allowed the competitors to blast off the start to the first mark - a spectacular sight to watch as the top ten sailors hit the line at full planing speed.

Amado Vrieswijk and Sarah-Quita Offringa have conquered the 2019 Bonaire PWA World Cup, at Sorobon Beach.

There was no shortage of action in the first event of the professional windsurfing season. And to kick things off, nothing like a freestyle showdown in the southern Caribbean.

On the women's side, Offringa lost the first heat in 11 years to Maaike Huvermann. The Dutch wonder woman forced a super final.

Naish announced the launch of the Wing-Surfer, a hand-held sail that can be paired with a foil board or stand-up paddleboard (SUP).

Robby Naish is the ultimate wind sports pioneer. He was at the heart of the windsurfing revolution and was able to transform his passion into a profitable business.

Later, Naish and his team entered the kiteboarding business and managed to deliver high-quality and durable products. The brand thrived.

JP Australia is working hard to make windsurfing great again. And the company's eyes are on futuristic concepts like "Project Spaceship."

"Project Spaceship" has a radical design. It is a 100-centimeter wide, 150 liter windsurf board with a unique bottom shape featuring a two-step hull.

The concept board was developed secretly. Nicolas Prien, one of JP's team riders, had the chance to test in late 2018, but his test and feedback were only made public in March 2019.

Australian windsurfer Jaeger Stone has taken out the 2019 Red Bull Storm Chase, in Ireland.

The specialty event got underway with wind gusts of up to 70 knots (80 miles per hour, 130 kilometers per hour), and 26-foot (eight-meter) waves breaking off the Irish Coast.

Eight world-class windsurfers traveled from all corners of the globe to Magheroarty Beach, in County Donegal, to take on the full force of a massive North Atlantic storm.

The founder of the Défi Wind and the legendary windsurfer will organize three international windsurfing events - the Défi Wind Caribbean, the Sorobon Masters, and the Dunkerbeck GPS Challenge - in a single week.

The triple windsurfing event series will run in Sorobon Beach, Pink Beach and Te Amo Beach, in Bonaire, between June 23-30, 2019.

The Sorobon Beach Resort and Dunkerbeck Pro Center will provide the headquarters and the windsurfing equipment rentals for the events.

Red Bull Storm Chase, the world's toughest windsurfing contest, is back on after three years of waiting with a serious storm brewing off the Irish coast.

Eight of the world's best windsurfers are about to hit the water in Force 10 winds (89-102 kilometers per hour) with the location needing close proximity to an international airport, adequate medical coverage, and emergency services.

A massive low-pressure system approaching the coast of Ireland has now created the ideal conditions and riders are expected to arrive in Dublin over the next 72 hours.

After three days of fun races, the wind was finally strong enough to run three official races on the last day of the Défi Wind Japan.

Three different winners excelled on the downwind course that brought a smile to the pros and amateurs alike. In the end, Ludovic Jossin and Yuki Sunaga won the first Défi Wind in the Land of the Rising Sun.

As every windsurfer knows, the wind can play tricks on you. The pro-am concept of the Défi Wind involves waiting for conditions in which everyone can enjoy themselves before official races are launched.

The Professional Windsurfers Association (PWA) announced a change in the PWA Freestyle World Tour format.

The 2019 PWA Men's Freestyle World Tour fleet will be reduced from 48 to 32 sailors.

The decision will allow the professional freestyle windsurfing circuit to run two-man heats earlier at each venue.

Windsurfing was born in 1964 and became an officially recognized sailing sport in 1973. But the history of the water sport is indissociable from the Windsurfer.

The International Windsurfer Class Association (IWCA) started its activities in the early 1970s. The class - created by Hoyle and Diane Schweitzer - was introduced in the USA and Europe in 1973, and to Australia in 1976.

The first international windsurfing events were run with the Windsurfer, a one-design class that showcased one single board and the same sail for all competitors.

The International Windsurfer Class Association (IWCA) has announced a candidacy for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The Windsurfer wants to replace RS:X as the official Olympic windsurfing class and has already formally presented the project to World Sailing.

But let's go back to the roots of sailboarding in the Olympic movement.

It has been two years since Kiri last competed in the PWA World Tour.

There has been some ups and downs, some victories and some losses, but Kiri is hungrier than ever to get on the podium again.

With an impressive winning streak from 2007 until 2015, Thode managed to secure a spot on the podium each year.

Niclas Nebelung has taken out the 2019 boot Düsseldorf Tow-In Contest, in Germany.

The German Freestyle Battles held an indoor tow-in competition at boot Düsseldorf, one of the world's largest and most influential boat and water sports trade show.

And who needs wind to sail a windsurf board? Pulled by a cable similar to those used in wake cable parks, five riders accelerated across the 65-meter pool and performed their best tricks and maneuvers.

On November 26, 2018, the World Surf League (WSL) suspended the iconic Peahi Challenge, in Maui. Why? There was too much wind, and the conditions were too gnarly for big wave surfing.

Luckily, "too much wind" also means perfect conditions for... big wave windsurfing. With a 27-second period swell marching in, Camille Juban, Kai Katchadourian, and Rudy Castorina grabbed their gear and sailed toward the peak at Jaws.

They were out at 4 pm. And then suddenly, the liquid mountains began to rise above the horizon.