Wave Windsurfing

Wave windsurfing attracts those windsurfers who seek extravagant thrill and endless ecstasy. It is an extremely rough water sport. The tall waves and the heavy gusts of the wind makes wave windsurfing a tough activity for a very few but skilled windsurfers. Initially, the Hawaiian islands of Oahu and Maui saw rapid growth in wave windsurfing. Today, Canary Islands in Spain and Barbados near Hawaii draw windsurfers from far and near.

Wave windsurfing is a combination of surfing and freestyle windsurfing. Wave windsurfers are known to tame rough waters with bumpy swells. The two aspects of wave windsurfing are wave riding and wave jumping. Wave riding is much like surfing. Generally, a sailor rides an unbroken wave towards the shore and performs a series of top turns and cut-backs. It is very difficult to ride and perform tricks on a barreling wave. Only expert windsurfers can launch into aerial moves when the waves start barreling and make an impressive landing in front of the wave.

Wave jumping, on the other hand, involves various stunts performed in mid-air. The rider sails towards the wave and jumps when he reaches the peak to attempt an aerial trick. The sailor utilizes the wave as a ramp to propel him. An aerial trick is performed by heaving and twisting the entire body with the equipment in the air. A lot of stunts variations have been introduced in wave jumping. Normally, a sailor would try basic stunts like forward loop, push loop and back loop. Nowadays, sailors are inventing newer techniques by combining two or more clockwise or anti-clockwise moves. Thus, pushy-forward loop, double rotations etc. have become common terms for the wave windsurfers.

The ideal conditions required for wave windsurfing would be tall, well-spaced waves with the winds blowing cross off-shore. It becomes difficult to contemplate the weather well in advance for a wave windsurfing competition to take place. Hence, competitors have to be adept at windsurfing in different wave conditions.

Wave Windsurfing Champions:

Robby Naish won his first World Championship in 1976. He won the Wave World Champion title in 1988, 1989, and 1991 due to his exceptional talent. He shot to fame with his 'Forward Loop', 'Longboard Loop' and 'Table Top' moves.

Bjorn Dunkerbeck swiftly followed Robby Naish and took home many Wave Windsurfing Championship titles in the 90s.

Ricardo Campello has contributed many innovative moves in freestyle windsurfing that are now being included in wave windsurfing.

Kauli Seadi and Diada Moreno hold the PWA Wave World Championship title for 2008 in the men's and women's category, respectively.

Wave Windsurfing Video:

Following is a short video that gives an insight into both the aspects of wave windsurfing - Wave riding and wave jumping.

Considering the level of difficulty due to the wave and weather conditions, wave windsurfing is a vigorous activity for a few zealous windsurfers.