by John Rendace

Created on: November 29, 2010

Many reviews of windsurfing don't start until Newman Darby's small rudderless catamaran first hit the waves in 1948. However, this leaves out centuries of history in ancient Polynesia. Sailors on sailboards have plied the South Seas since time immemorial. The islanders, who pioneered this sport, as well as the sport of surfboarding, took their connection with the ocean very seriously and it really is quite sad that they're so often forgotten about.

That, of course, shouldn't at all downplay the contributions that Newman Darby made to the sport. As was previously alluded to, Darby took a small catamaran and mounted a handheld sail and rig to a universal joint. His design allowed a sailor to steer by shifting their weight and thus moving the sail. However, Darby didn't patent his design.

Working between 1964 and 1967, RAND Corporation engineer Jim Drake designed an idea for a sailboard with his friend Fred Payne. However, he was concerned by the fact that such a design required a wire close to the sailor in order to upright the sail. Moreover, there were already several sailboard designs out there. Ultimately, he had decided to design a rotational system to control the sail, and once again the universal joint cropped up.

His wife had introduced Drake to surfer Hoyle Schweitzer, and the pair filed a patent for the final design in 1968. The first windsurfing patent was granted to them in 1970. However, the history of windsurfing is filled with numerous fights over the actual owner of patents to various designs. In fact, it ended up getting so bad that windsurfing patent disputes are sometimes used as case studies in law.

Hoyle and Diana Schweitzer founded Windsurfing International to manufacture the technology that was patented by Schweitzer and Jim Drake. Hoyle had experience making custom surfboards in the past. The new company registered the term windsurfer as a trademark, and Hoyle ended up buying Drake's half of the patent for $36,000 in 1973.

Schweitzer's promotional efforts, and the sub-license to a Dutch firm called Ten Cate, lead to the rapid growth of the sport. Windsurfing became especially beloved in Europe. However, the patent defense lawsuits that came about against Windsurfer International spoiled some of the fun. Many previous designs were brought up to courts around the world, and there were many who disputed that Windsurfer International wasn't really the innovator of their design.

In Europe, sublicensed firms like Mistral, F2 and Tabur wanted to reduce their royalty payments for using Windsurfing International's patent. Having found an English newspaper story in regards to a sailboard used in the UK by Peter Chilvers in 1958, Tabur's attorneys filed suit. The case of Windsurfing International Inc. v Tabur Marine ultimately invalidated the patent in Britain. Schweitzer then filed suit in Canada, but the opposition won again. In fact, Chilvers and Drake helped defend the opposition in this suit. The Tabur Marine firm changed their name to Bic Sport, and ended up becoming the largest manufacturer of windsurfing equipment. Schweitzer lost an additional lawsuit against the Swiss company Mistral, who defended themselves with references to Newman Darby's designs. Mistral continues to market popular sailboards.

Windsurfing International, having had a reapplied patent run out in 1987, ceased operations shortly thereafter. However, regardless of whatever legal trouble plagued the business side of the sport, sailors will never stop enjoying the feeling of the sun and surf, and the gentle spray of the sea.

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