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The Kona windsurfing class has done exactly that with its relatively new spin on one design racing. We all know sailors don’t come in the same sizes, so why should their sails. No one likes to get skunked just because the wind isn’t optimal to your weight. To even the playing field, the class allows different rig sizes for different weights but everyone is racing on the same board and on the same line. Amazingly it works really well. 100 lb kids barely 5′ tall on 5.8 m2 rigs are mixing it up with 6’4″ 200 lb clydesdales on 9.8m2 rigs. Kids are racing their parents. Guys who haven’t raced in 16 years are coming back and saying, “Wow, I forgot how much fun this could be!”

This year’s world championship in Isalamorada, Florida was no exception. With veterans coming out of the woodwork and upcoming junior racing establishing their legacy, it was as much as a retrospective to the good old days of the one design windsurfer as you could get but with the current generation taking the helm. 106 competitors from 13 nations & 4 continents competed over 5 days in winds from 12-30k.  At the end of the regatta, Rasmus Sayer, a 17 year old from Martha’s Vinyard walked away with 6 bullets out of 12 races to take championship, just points in front of his dad, Nevin who claimed 3rd overall in front of legendary windsurf racer Dane, Tim Aagesen. Meanwhile, Rasmus’ older sister, Solving finished 11th, proving it’s a real family affair.