Hoyle Schweitzer, Who Brought Windsurfing to the Masses, Dies at 93

Hoyle Schweitzer’s death marks the end of a life that helped turn windsurfing into a global sport. He and Jim Drake patented the Windsurfer in 1970, turning a garage experiment into a mass‑produced sailboard featuring an asymmetrical sail and a handheld wishbone boom. The design, initially called the SK8 and Baja Board, was later named Windsurfer and popularized by the late 1970s in Europe, eventually becoming an Olympic sport in 1984. The pair founded Windsurfing International to commercialize the board, even mortgaging their home to fund the venture. Schweitzer, born April 8, 1933, in Los Angeles, studied at Pomona College and helped shape high‑performance windsurfing through relentless innovation and a commitment to accessibility.