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Local windsurfers reviving sport on Geneva Lake

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Windsurfing

The Lake Geneva Sailing School just added a windsurfing class this summer.

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FONTANA — Along the shores of Geneva Lake, where sailboats and motor craft are king, a few men are trying to revive the lake’s dying sport: windsurfing.

While sailors, water skiers and pontoon cruisers are everywhere here, windsurfers are making a comeback.

The Geneva Lake Sailing School is offering windsurfing lessons for the first time this summer. Local windsurfers help teach to promote the sport to the next generation.

Dozens of area kids, who in the past might have preferred sailing or wakeboarding, are learning the sport.

“I would like to see these guys grow to love windsurfing,” said Kevin Jewett, director of the sailing school. “It’s a sport that is so rewarding. I mean, it’s a lifetime sport.”

Windsurfing was popular in the 1980s, said Jewett, a former competitive windsurfer who once finished third in the United States for one spot on the Olympic team.

The sport’s popularity waned in the 1990s, but sailing schools across the country are adding windsurfing programs to revive the sport, he said.

Someday, a windsurfer from Geneva Lake could go to the Olympics, Jewett said.

“I think they’re very excited by it, but also challenged by it,” he said. “When they get it, it’s cool. It’s a neat breakthrough for them.”

During a recent lesson, kids learned windsurfing off the pier. A teacher helped the kids stand on the boards and accompanied them on the water.

“Lean the sail back. Go around the front of the mast. Make sure you turn the board,” Jewett told students. “Good job.”

A few kids got the hang of windsurfing. They sailed out several hundred yards and back. Others never left the pier. A few made it out, but they swam back.

Kayla Wruk, 10, was windsurfing for the second time. She handled the sail well.

“I figured out leaning back the sail and bringing it forward helps you turn,” she said. “I felt like I got a little bit better at tacking and driving.”

Stuart Henry, 10, said he was improving after two or three times on the water. He said the sport was challenging.

“I learned how to balance the board better,” he said. “I can basically get the sail up and sail around.

“If I practice a lot, I can get pretty good at it.”

Tom Whowell, a local windsurfer, volunteered to teach kids the sport.

Local windsurfers want the sport to have a future on the lake, he said. They’re willing to take younger windsurfers under their wings.

“We’re really passionate about the sport, especially getting the kids involved,” he said.

Dan James, another local windsurfer, enjoyed promoting the sport to local children.

“Whenever you have an opportunity to share it, it’s fun,” James said. “It’s a thrilling activity.”

Despite the sport’s steep learning curve, he was impressed with the kids.

“They’re doing really well,” James said. “Their enthusiasm level is really, really high.”