Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as “sailboarding” and “boardsailing”, and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California.
Windsurfing gained a popular following across Europe and North America by the late 1970s and had achieved significant global popularity by the 1980s. Windsurfing became an olympic sport in 1984.
These vintage photos were taken by Nick DeWolf that show the Windsurfing World Championships held in Cancún, Mexico in October 1978.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpbE8Wi3o40LnLIfEbCHzie0joYjjHz_bl--uuh17qLmgtJw-2fuA5KNaJCZDRCIchUukUj6eLt5dfjpGLHPAdAcg90RbzCx4IS53jshDnBxanmMmnbmdH1vKiNkt1eucE2Voepx7D8vBuGUGYMhfDjSIqrfr8_0imqLIp4fWXE1Ruxu8-AXJ6czAR/w640-h422/1978-windsurfing-world-championships-1.jpeg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhle8nuATZ71yCs7WTPo3X_urMnMbAeU7g-kVfyw4KtyLs_4ZPc9j89ZNCh4WPe-YiM1rWT-AI8vsvY8cqsYnTor1TfNgQlJ45goSTz3V9Jyw5ySgeGpMJ7NIjdTdyAztCKQYrc9IefAeY4Njk1-ES38oN60ESX4hU3UH7UjBakrD3Gx810d6RP91bs/w640-h424/1978-windsurfing-world-championships-2.jpeg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_oqkICfmOdEaPEpW2-Y2qNaW_FYlXZPaQZxFpwlT-_eo6Izy7xuHzqJqp0ZI7dlIrhvaM-nWpdpxWL1G22lySq1vfG7fc4H2K3-N768rx3fT35LujwN-b1FgH0nO8azLBQADSAmnrzh9PUoAO904GYuJzesmixw6NZsPypv1E1LznP35mSdTNUhrF/w640-h422/1978-windsurfing-world-championships-3.jpeg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAWsQaFJsqc0L283Aqy73YGGZ9TNevU50SGtT4ZHQqynNFcy3YhNWKv2K-XHuGkKAahn4C44U-bfGLpDLNRkgWm7LQeBxjI-0AMHS38xKUDYFFjLvW_o-cQtYTfCSXIK_QJ8AH-MF5nKv8eSkJsIth2hlDb-cykqN_YlV8vHqYj54CUx36z8GsFkDI/w640-h420/1978-windsurfing-world-championships-4.jpeg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvmOXw_HV9x5pHlS3erl9Y_OsLJj5TXIjYNWx8h7b-uZp5H_nX4GOpyml8oeK5sptjOdlW3PwNtFI5G-8jgHbKUJfxieFX4Qfgf3E08gpFVAaAFYd_bTc-hoYv76wzwM4D6WRxrbU4Y6dtOXCcnJzp4UnVFyEMD9FLRdVF5B7DhGZ4ipbanQZTrH-Z/w640-h420/1978-windsurfing-world-championships-5.jpeg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHHHkp5FzhjMAigNLAQEHsf5nfNG_Cb2ttT0HrnrPNh4kqqIMFsg07DjofhLUJRQyXYOdkW3TFxgCO0725geWXJGoTmwTkZSdV2jcd45lOsqYwcpaVuULCO-d7XNVuTWx4RfMn-Rb4vW6CJSyPWzSpTmF8Rh8NC8bXEP6OZeKCAzJ6AzeBmXJOUsRn/w640-h416/1978-windsurfing-world-championships-6.jpeg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpoDCUv7ryHiEfs6NXV5P_OTRtLoU74TNsxpG0NXFyCefaq1n-DgyK8dT48G_odiyJW53rl9yLZV9eHYlK_CVGtrZLMclsy-ljgeYnhaLYrgZyGihqZXfGRYiaEHnxGaS5H8qZZw5y_5zgN2l-4CIVvXHtq7VLiwWeoOEx6O9jaqSNdT6hPjUJFidc/w640-h416/1978-windsurfing-world-championships-7.jpeg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIt_kEkHeMA3ETfyYQsPtPt1CCvbBVM7d9TqI51LFZVZ1OLgQFLGsH-mlAesBgmZlqm8Vf1BI0pVzwXJn4OcMg3hcb842i1mc0Ii56HJvGhl6xJVS2PQgUH4Ma0vo1II1kjgqgXmmBeTdnX7HSmGJ3etaxb1JG5qvPVwF4cMD5vp98q01jnYv5Nki6/w640-h420/1978-windsurfing-world-championships-8.jpeg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicdPu0XdtpBRm5ojdX8yxt9oeVxZxCUMqGpff_Ld7ef9gVD81J9rT2BZGwzZ26wvq4PlQd5lsoEVlhjRZ7k9D56NnG0HrCK4FTmZhKT8sHyvbAAwNhjAp-eWl8gOuUwT_O4PQDfqiGKC-5VqU2rSVXhwWDv-8_6YXXqXdByN2mO4vTBnLrKRNbFzSz/w640-h418/1978-windsurfing-world-championships-9.jpeg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1L6JRzDM-pHOxfEURCByPcgS_2XHylXTrdHhWNa6iNAEiqJpP6GFc6ze6UlJYs8read0h6Y6xQK_LUtI-uFt62RKjVigU8XVWXzrBfp1lki5iKlABy6l5S_jeY9yd_k2LCLjjobHst8ekhQ6kor6dM0LNdIxi-fmi3zcJRMpJNzlMh6UGTNGiyBim/w640-h426/1978-windsurfing-world-championships-10.jpeg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGpu86Tdn9Oipwx25ECLZJeV5UTk42qwf0gBQlW3msTvMtIx2_jEnm67SPjbkagwbzVPVuE9JGYBA9zeJloQ3SgoH3ojyykrbh-TXTDRvNIcDo_GrpQmhgGQ75sk2_rXOKqDvqjaaisvtQFBcwvdG-i1oaIBwl0LeAgcKfSdD6CrxwQGA9-vfHOPu3/w640-h430/1978-windsurfing-world-championships-11.jpeg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdFONCGhko8x5URAgbMXhOPbYcL-21rKFVQXGOAwbF9mv9MucCR4iF22KHYi0FwOJZ5PMA9dt1yUq5k-Dpxf36aIY7gxaRh224NhGnRbp4vAyp9JjKYzp9zM7XOsQI0jXddFFNwpvN7d3VoqDNnEr4RkIiQtBwqq2cdLZIko5m8wGk1OcSxyH_-Zbn/w640-h420/1978-windsurfing-world-championships-12.jpeg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW4iPVQmuHudaYDJ2YX0YSm_LGFcDNUMGLuTTnX7ptqCScWCWKxVoR76XF4Lj4T-fCzIbRb8zK5BzC_7UK78tXutYccUAd4OyYk59GT1TjHoXYcqk70VJjPckKdU5nxP2E5rAf2wjIwCAfyyrZ7AI_c6fNypc7-IcCUUs6IPbXkAEdxhHT2tC9PXlP/w640-h418/1978-windsurfing-world-championships-13.jpeg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKBRvMFD5cAoYuxBwnWKVCxrwe1DegkNWfwoDRKgkMUajn7J_P9orUOPVUOz3nPTB2ROlZhsoocvLcZHI2NlnhRbiManPSgomCAyGYdawWQX0-ynmNfV2CW1Tx22oPOqxafLb0gFV-vWJxbC7c6PX8BzEGMKWUm552ra5vWM_-ulTQ-rIxgFf8fbzt/w640-h418/1978-windsurfing-world-championships-14.jpeg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE8y-vSmZ-9eDe0KOU6ijg0Egylqhv0jlWuSPgMT4GJ7b7jfTb0amnfrEhdAXkdL0HnA1ZWYSXt4LDQqMVU50AYevKUqD9BgkhsqPAajkNdw44DCIHo4x_OnszZhM-m3WXdwmhA7MQfL0-4Hcm-jBd88wfKPvYZGkIDWGeHzm3OskCdaxk1GMKPhFF/w640-h420/1978-windsurfing-world-championships-15.jpeg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcvk0ObYvKDforYYr1jloEoYo33V0gzPtW4z6OBaNQfs5IT20OiZ7Mz6grFonQjR-uzZWTNAyciyUMerqQn3kAKNXxfwaBfaeCnAl-4fLR1e_y1IE4WbaKISLz5Q6yTG4Km9ddszmpZfDFuYmDSzMESOBT9ZXum63PG_FK2-bVfELZXGnLhuZ2gsn3/w640-h420/1978-windsurfing-world-championships-16.jpeg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigXtNfd8_y2UjfEiNjG6CaAFmCESpilp80T_Mewyafaqm3X-cBXgNJ8royQ96dlNZz7YzCXiNL26M1PA4e0R2duhyQRBWdm_4bYyKthvhXXEH_Em3-StG8htjEJaWUlhyDutxVG31WnuS0bpWNkiZtD0ONI6ak0JOuKpID-nNwjU2qHFYRCNCpFLE_/w640-h416/1978-windsurfing-world-championships-17.jpeg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkzufqCQuqHZoyjMruiEgBkSSY6MT-o9JeGOmccOE1sULvNF-hZojsjqjHKTHGKSuZ1f3X9gTcWSyxJ56EkqpLys9KrS8y_RGFKT3RhD4QQZcVdtJEqt2tC2Vg3255dd91GwTmql6izbC6wwYSO7LAm5MHMRjoJCigWxaO9Gbs0f5r1SRFopwlJarT/w640-h420/1978-windsurfing-world-championships-18.jpeg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs4Ycazfzd7EdGu69dlt8Fbh3_gsFYo7QC2aCbhiv3xsY7L4dhnQCXK5YTnBS8puwk0fu29MYCKBvJJNqaEtnT5YrzvHz_1c75-T89XFZki1K9jG9ULgfJH4mjmsdu_ZAAIBpsL4CGAdVYMyaT_1XB34PMtuuso1N3UpTlMQtEEr_IPmQHf7iOIHtj/w640-h416/1978-windsurfing-world-championships-19.jpeg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7cX-Ng1GNY-bVI14iJ-Q02V5m0YBCl4mcFeQzFQi9lGJBT07_PtZ-X-G1U-Kx3lAhw-TRJh7ik5ErKN3JEp8pvoSiU3yWXZv2IdK6Rs80h7MklzfZ_ZpLOusBq_qiSfT8CnYUrsi-rQr2QtD3V7UqVe5A5-Iu1thJ-FySGoGHrMNnj_nv_viQpWq6/w640-h416/1978-windsurfing-world-championships-20.jpeg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCh73CDg3mDVABMpP0obXzVRcI5WsflrzkqMdc8Fd_X9nhiYQt2t0Kb6HxywVSl_e_tLmjf9-PLGW3IPj31uZ1vGc_FXKdYOY3NSMlfVNM6Sj3S3uSlXQ8BFf3f0_GWABnEcq_dRVt9FVo7wtUUJVYOA_-sGsHgW6UDs9ZzOtOtVIZ8ASYDRffZvf_/w640-h416/1978-windsurfing-world-championships-21.jpeg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfF4XUkkjfj3-NLQXiS4wp9pKoueC8IO3izkKcdX9TrJ25k1dtAuLzGa4Bom-wYkVbQucHYo_qNO3RwUQph9UsDBMZy6-Wpcir5KYHRHj_ne1hE3_GobkRyDEuPPSdmF9oIRiLhmUu8WuDFMS5JgURQ_xwApCWYeCkHiUZSdLleA725dG0jzaSiGWp/w640-h414/1978-windsurfing-world-championships-22.jpeg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj664t09HVOaaoT3CbDGCI4xxRCm4HwiirjZBdm-7VaYvnKXn6AhrLnzOP2Hp0HqMaq-pjGNURKkMUOyU23eeL3CslpubgUpVIibWl1rOxf9HtgKOPTwCiS4ghOyxoevhBoRqz6l5nbHvuD_WTbsIdqGOSHGUZZ4LKPoAGrV6nDWroY8Al7nxnnWu76/w640-h424/1978-windsurfing-world-championships-23.jpeg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio5QaJoAWCmFmnLVlbNai2AaFTVl5gBdTrUSg3aI4PPdcvDWNqeU84kHjU7wjxezn_vRCNjHIBOAl05lra-9t9QlxMJK1Kf9iPGrsrpT_Sc34nclpMiVUv1oon3KWsHkxSj6BHMvqt9pQs016QRGdkO-p0dc-MOIqQzIr4rF_tG3ZfQzkgp2tA3sjj/w640-h424/1978-windsurfing-world-championships-24.jpeg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfcVoEuBmBUnC6HVUe7CXcEB6sDbnMpw2WZ5JBQlaW2hIGKxaMeScCy2edwAZznqch4gIi-3SClkPfo5MgXM3oGiD5kSd_Jw6aY6PsSwLgO3qKWnMzZwSnNgTNZ_wD4DV5RGvxN0YtKQLC9sz1PY2Eh0kk2KUmJRc8PSJYwPPvGfx2HbKxHO0_lytk/w640-h424/1978-windsurfing-world-championships-25.jpeg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl3epfQZJ5tfGATCaW3EMnA4B_A81PsTxGHTgbeVeR2yj9w-qg5bhCGQdPMsN8eXCDXq2fAoFUCZZB4aSdFLka9hwS-uYRBI8O-PVkfymEVFtRHtR5aGyxaInVZfsUjZB42__lim2BWUPTifoueuGvbJfSQieX8y5W8Wo0TrRTu-PgFBGH7_i7ndsq/w640-h430/1978-windsurfing-world-championships-26.jpeg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqfYa-QqTNjqZovITT8zWNoAtMb0A0EV-k2sa6srRzsbQ9vvwl5rwHYvCX0WjZkrXKzAz_-2d7ocyWMCTwjOupIdiANg_JplvxOISqC7mNRzf83H-66NxJbbu6U_e7lrf1rdNWH-zg2eOUEZdyHLYFkvhQ9d4GhzpjitpwOG0r8lbeVDtdIkTLdkgO/w640-h422/1978-windsurfing-world-championships-27.jpeg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Dm59FqqTh0Joh7l1gYrnrzO6Kq1wCgwOXIfOp2tTB0-MyNIQKzhBHDS6dUZ_8eprZu8TCpy9IMsBKXKn6Vbbhc8CBJLwW9GfwioXwzETDqMcZzbidSlT89SKT03rLfauu0Xz5sIyCVIwYEDZVprNcCiO4VDAXH2Ok2U2mKq1qourXHMBZzALNzKz/w640-h424/1978-windsurfing-world-championships-28.jpeg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW4dNFAsgXYcA9mpDkWLpbfcnh5Zy1Bwa8QCHL7Idzi07B8gyI9CaxalNfIzvRJYDnA_GbHRBWGIioC8zBpSliWPhdYYFaLnAuEZ8bvcQx42ri2u-l25OdxkR1q8ItGoJKvIjMfoefE7fYTFlH4HkC7KjzLwB3FPhp0FLdLlOxUB3UfFMvvQfxcHfJ/w640-h422/1978-windsurfing-world-championships-29.jpeg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji-ymCa8ud-zHQOAbn0Z_RhkHZJXIYwtgcP7KiLu2gdJUR5lkg2hEq0WT5rgzFoH5seEchptDUGmn9IVYd7q3iMa3sNHiNHdcbNjo0e-dNPSQBecDi4QGWtpiJPrXm6Ss-2TKmK8qzbCycM57OqB-c5jJRUJLRonkqoc-LEOPGqlOgb82mmcyzmFJt/w640-h424/1978-windsurfing-world-championships-30.jpeg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi18omGCiP2l00hbTsPlAE_qwrAjtD9kHbEKftYLyHORz6o2EX2mys2qd4TmnYGLveBJdiW8mJ8nT1E3cB7t2Ts_1WgdxTOFTzoXHQ1qNzpO1lCLOlw2c50ac0DRKk34JAq7UVV5HQ0B_iasguKc4Vii_jdA4NMVxDJtkz2TarQERM9Ylw45QnJs-DK/w640-h420/1978-windsurfing-world-championships-31.jpeg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5eBHO8hF2LEXs_WizrOnyfxgPP-_Po2YCanPD7qyVw2EHfl0ZcIqbzAMgPH3TbnkvI2DlLHJ6HezEgbRyiRpYlbs6562tadZs6Tkduewo5tmQhh4V5VfKZzIpB9cGlQBGHHpcaGVJPJdHeLe9i9b-M3TdHISJ_IO4E-aT2zQ4U8M6MK6yDmUBOqvw/w640-h424/1978-windsurfing-world-championships-32.jpeg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUXWFoOT2AvAxHLi-ZmaTbHog8v1T7OXKuoqdXVfJQF1khALY1W1U-DpslYfwIFs0Zmv6fa0P6XtokQbGhuavQj6BFEA6yD0w4wAub0zAUi1J3m8dz78pg3ou6JhpTOySpUknTlITz-joc2j8VxNO9I6TTNk0YaXUgQkxuYjDZ66bxjJsGw6ZYWrm-/w640-h422/1978-windsurfing-world-championships-33.jpeg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGlIIIAHhQCCdFgT1G1DBIJbQCT5ps5R00pX5qW9wIUpOPbPGOrEIOKSwRCNFcA5pnmRiR2Q7JkqlsD53CYcgqRbuWCHIp6IQD9H_QWGBEvBKjdeX-aeAIIysBX5WaT1oxCVLzzqdNa6_uSYN14c-WPZH0tbMJpAW-oyG864FCdHYg0rlgcPu5sETb/w640-h426/1978-windsurfing-world-championships-34.jpeg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYthHxagG3Gk5VbkQRFgsgdBTbEyJaeuKEGPgypxZbibozKs8_-kw0jujwmTkEudqaiy5VzFN5vjBs-3c_1dkvYahmSQssEHYTURIoqiLSy3fX9zqnB5mbuj0U8gT0EBUplOeyEv33-2XjhS7ug8ZdSbrK-nAhpkPN4DET6nLgd65gJcnbvV03MUwt/w640-h422/1978-windsurfing-world-championships-35.jpeg)