All sports require three basic elements: a human body, a piece of equipment and a source of power. The part about the body is obvious, but the other two become evident on reflection. Tennis needs a racquet, high jump needs a bar, surfing needs a board, darts needs a board too, pool needs a cue, soccer needs goals, cricket needs wickets and so on. You might think running races are an exception, but even these need a finish line – as well as a suitable surface to run on. All sport is equipment-dependent, with some equipment being more complex than others. The mechanical power can have a number of sources, but something has to make something else move: it might be the arms and legs, or it might be a wave, or it might be the string of a bow, or it might be a swung bat, or it might be the wind. The body controls the power through the equipment (sport is a triadic relation, as we analytical philosophers like to say). Sailing is a sport in which power is supplied by the wind, and its equipment is a floating vessel affixed to a sail. Windsurfing is a type of sailing invented in the early 1960s that employs a very special type of equipment. In order to do it, you need intimate knowledge of the equipment and how it functions. The wind won’t let you get away with anything less. Windsurfing is equipment-intensive. It’s all about the gear.