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First hydrofoil windsurfer appears in 1979 - John Speer - 1979
World First Snapshot
- First Title
- First hydrofoil windsurfer
- Discipline
Windsurf Foiling- Class
- Open / Overall
- Measured Result
- first - (First only)
- Date
- 1979-01-01 (year precision)
- Location
- Kailua, Hawaii, USA, HI, United States
- First Achieved By
- John Speer
World First Spotlight
Monster Council Approval
Jasper & Casper, along with the foiling community at large, has given this glorious achievement the official Foiling Freaks nod for Windsurf Foiling.
May it inspire better evidence, cleaner runs, bigger claims, and even louder hooting from the crowd.
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The Monster-Sized Story
A SURF retrospective on issue 2/1979 says John Speer of Hawaii reported on a hydrofoil board that he designed himself, tested before Kailua, and used in a race against a catamaran. A separate windsurfing history timeline also describes Speer in 1979 as probably the first person to use a hydrofoil on a windsurfer. Because early experimental windfoil history is reconstructed from later references to magazine-era material, this row is written as the earliest publicly documented claim found in the reviewed sources.
Rules of the Beast
Qualifying entries must show or credibly describe a conventional windsurf rig mounted to a sailboard that is supported by one or more hydrofoils under the board. Handheld wings, kite rigs, parawings, motorized foils, and non-windsurf sailing craft do not qualify. Because very early windfoil history is reconstructed from magazines, museum timelines, and retrospective accounts, this Foiling Freaks first is recorded as the earliest publicly documented claim found in the reviewed sources, not as proof that no private experiment ever happened earlier. If stronger primary evidence predates the current entry, the series should be reviewed.
How This Got the Nod
SURF retrospective and windsurfing history timeline support the 1979 public-documentation claim. Exact day is not stated.