Sailing is evolving….. In the recent past all types of sailing came from the established Yacht Clubs. Parents, members of the yacht club, enlisted their kids in the training program of the Yacht Club and some of them became so good that they could go to the Olympics to represent the Yacht Club (and country). For others it remained a pastime where they could spend their leisure time among wealthy peers. The boats had names like Lightning, Dragon, Swan….. they were slim, beautiful and expensive. New sailing members came from within the families of existing members of the club or through a Godfather system where some members supported the candidacy of the new member and often a substantial entry price had to be paid. Some “Royal” yacht clubs still use this system today. In the late seventies & early eighties a new type of craft, a “windsurfer”, suddenly became available and was embraced by the International Yachting Racing Union as a “board-sailor”. It was a much “hyped” sport; all over the world millions were sold. In 1984 it made its first appearance (for men only) at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, with an additional, new, medal. In 1992 in Barcelona the girls also got an additional, new, Olympic medal. The special thing about these windsurfers was, and is, that you can easily put it on your roof rack, ride it to the beach and sail off, free, unattached to any official body. A bit like the ‘renegade’ surfers riding all the best waves all over the world. Suddenly the established Yacht Clubs had a kind of competition because the launching ramps, cranes and moorings were not needed by those “boardsailors”. Some Yacht clubs saw the potential and started beachclubs using just the beach or a grassed area to launch from. Other new windsurfing clubs were founded on small lakes (too small to sail a boat) but good enough to boardsail around on a light day on a displacement board. New disciplines and classes grew in windsurfing , for example funboard, speed windsurfing, wave performance, planing freestyle and Formula Windsurfing, all aiming at the thrill part of the windsurf- sport: planing! Next to this evolution and thanks to the Hobie 16 the catamaran-sport was affordable and growing and also using beaches to launch to the sea. In many countries mixed catamaran and windsurfing clubs started and grew very fast. In some countries catamaran was also not within the ISAF family, and that eventually led to its removal from the Olympic Family. The need for speed, found its way into the sailing world and boats like the Foiling moth, 49r, 29r, Open Bic, appeared and filled a void. Also these boats needed a bit more wind changing the game to more ‘speed and tuning’ oriented racing in comparison to tactical light wind sailing. In the late 20th-early 21st century another craft started to appear, the ‘dangerous kiteboards’. They were using a 2 line kite and standing on a wakeboard, and were flying, fast, uncontrollable over the water. Some National Sailing Federations were so afraid of it that they did not even recognize it as a form of sailing. Over the years, C-bow kites, 4 and 5-line kites that could be almost 100% depowered, and safety systems were developed by the manufacturers and this made the kiteboard sport open to all kind of participants: surfers, windsurfers, wakeboarders, sailors , all tried it and many got really “hooked”. The International Sailing Federation adopted the kiteboard family. Even more than the windsurfers and catamaran sailors, the kiteboarders needed regular wind so Kiteboarding was oriented away from the small inner-lakes to the big lakes and open seas. Planing conditions are a must. Technical evolution makes this now possible in 6 knots! The Kiteboarders are now part of the Olympics. Here are some statistics 2009 2011 Belgium Flemish Sailing Licences 15.707 15.800 Flemish Beach club members 2.104 2.640 Flemish insured Kiters 488 1.331 France Sailing Licences 78.279 81.648 Kiters 11.588 13.446 Similar numbers can be found all over the world. Especially in the emerging nations, in Africa and Asia, a lot more people are enjoying the sport of sailing through windsurf and kiteboard than through an optimist, laser,… Looking back at the 2012 Olympic games in Weymouth, only a few months ago, everybody has seen that on a daily basis a lot of formula windsurfers, funboarders and kitboarders were sailing off the Portland beach but we never saw somebody out there with a RS:X, Laser, 470, Finn, Starr,…. out there just for “Fun”! Looking at today’s modern sailing we must conclude that: The growth of the sailing sport is no longer in the Yacht Clubs but is on the beaches where every day children are confronted with windsurfing and Kiteboarding. Easy access to the sport, a short learning curve, very fast, exciting, planing X-games, within the reach of everybody. A minimum windspeed, allowing sailors to sail without the need to pump is a basic need of our sport. If you want to ski you need a slope and snow, for wild-water kayak you need fast water, for exciting sailing we need wind! Good winds !!! Bruno De Wannemaeker President IFCA / BABC Vice-president IWA / IKA / VYF ISAF-member: EQ, EQSC, WSKBC, IJ, IRO & IM .