Windsurfing Windsurfing is a surface water sport that combines elements of surfing and sailing . It consists of a board usually 2 to 2.5 metres (6 ft 7 in to 8 ft 2 in) long, with displacements typically between 45 and 150 litres (9.9 and 33.0 imp gal; 12 and 40 US gal), powered by wind on a sail. The rig is connected to the board by a free-rotating universal joint and consists of a mast , boom and sail . The sail area generally ranges from 1.5 to 12 square metres (16 to 129 sq ft) depending on the conditions, the skill of the sailor, the type of windsurfing being undertaken and the weight of the person windsurfing. Some credit S. Newman Darby with the origination of windsurfing by 1964 on the Susquehanna River, Pennsylvania , United States when he invented the "sailboard", which he did not patent. In 1964, Darby began selling his sailboards. A promotional article by Darby was published in the August 1965