Robby Naish, 13, wins the World Championship

The fourth Windsurfer World Championship, held in the Bahamas in 1976, drew 456 competitors. It was won by Robby Naish from Oahu, Hawaii, who was 13 years old.

The result gave the sport a face. Windsurfing already had a Californian beach image; a teenage world champion from Hawaii added the islands to it. Naish later became the leading test rider and star of the Mistral brand for many years.

The size of the entry mattered as much as the winner. The International Yacht Racing Union, which governs all sailing, took notice of the record fleet and began to look at how to recognise the new sport. It set up a Board Sailing Committee in 1977, the first step on the road that led to the Olympic Games.