A quick internet search for the ‘sport of kings’ turned up would be crown holders from the world of horseback riding, jousting, chess, falconry and surfing to name but a few. Windsurfing never made the list which should come as no surprise to those who are held tightly in its grasp. Windsurfing is the sport of lunatics, the dominion of hopeless romantics, eternal optimists and grumbling masochists.

The Zen-like state achieved when wind, water, board and sail are all in glorious harmony is intoxicating beyond belief. Nothing, absolutely nothing happens without wind. There are many places on planet Earth where wind is abundant. Hawaii. The Canary Islands. The peak of Mount Everest. Patagonia. Antarctica. Noticeably absent from the list was Saint John. This is not to say that Saint John isn’t windy. It does get its fair share of wind, much of it comes in the winter months when people are more apt to be snowboarding, skiing or hibernating. Wind is a fickle mistress, a cheating boyfriend. Predicted wind is unpredictable. Ask any windsurfer his or her opinion on the dark art of professional wind forecasting and you’ll most likely hear a groan at best. At worst, a colourfully laced historical diatribe of forecasts gone bad. Windsurfing is a sport that demands patience and determination Most of the time the wind plays master to your servant but on those rare occasions when the stars align, there is no greater drug than speeding across the water at 40 to 50 kilometres per hour. The feeling is exhilarating, liberating and often downright scary.

The fortuitous location of Saint John marries the cold, salty Atlantic with the usually warmer inland waters of the Kennebecassis Bay offering quite a variety of conditions to the aspiring windsurfer. The Bay of Fundy is the realm of the advanced intermediate windsurfer to the expert. The water is cold, the tides are strong and the shorebreak (the waves meeting the shore) can be menacing. The ocean swells with jumpable waves are the reward to those hardy enough to don their thick wetsuits, booties, gloves and hoods. Dave Cuthbertson grew up in Saint John and has sailed at Saints Rest beach during all twelve months of the year and is one of just a handful to have braved the bay year-round. While the Saint John River and its tributaries are locked in ice during the winter months, the wind and waves carry on their daily business on the Bay of Fundy.


Cuthbertson is but one of a core group of individuals who comprise the Saint John windsurfing fraternity. Surprisingly these wind junkies have an average age around forty and the vast majority of them are highly skilled professionals. Doctors, a nurse, engineers, a printmaker, entrepreneurs, businessmen, diver, museum worker, IT specialists, a banker, retirees and a leisurologist comprise the bulk of the group. Men and women. Twentyish, sixtyish and everything in between. This demographic mirrors the demographic of windsurfers worldwide. All lunatics but not in the traditional sense. Crazy about windsurfing and willing to forego all other commitments for a chance to get on the water.

Windsurfing peaked as a past-time in the 1970s and 80s when it took the watersports world by storm. Oddly enough the equipment on which most people learned wouldn’t even be considered worth using nowadays. The technological advances in the last ten years have been staggering. Anyone could learn the fundamentals of windsurfing in one hour with a proper lesson. I’ve witnessed an inspired grandmother in her mid-fifties crossing Washademoak Lake with barely a splashdown during the first hour of her first lesson. You don’t have to be a superhero to windsurf nor do you need spinach-fed forearms to hang on to the sail. My father recently retired from the sport at age eighty-two. Most people are surprised at how easy it’s become to learn. Manufacturers accommodate men, women and children with gender and age specific designs. All you need to succeed is desire and a lesson on modern equipment in a gentle breeze. Warm water goes a long way to making the experience a success. Many people take their first lesson during winter getaways in the tropics.

Autumn is a glorious time to windsurf on the Kennebecassis or try the waves at Saints Rest or New River Beach. Not all of the colours most often associated with September and October fall from trees. Wetsuited wind worshippers take their red, orange and yellow sails and boards to the water and the sky, their bright equipment bathed in silver-blue waters and punctuated by frothing whitecaps. Maniacal screams and laughter heard only by the wind.