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James Drake (1929-2012)

 
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TeamChad



Joined: 17 Feb 2009
Posts: 8

PostPosted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 1:22 pm    Post subject: James Drake (1929-2012) Reply with quote

Boardheads,

Surfer Today posted yesterday the passing of Jim Drake.
"Jim Drake, co-inventor of the Windsurfer, dies at 83"
He made significant contributions to the sailboard.
Though not a co-inventor, he was actually a co-patent holder.
An accurate account of the evolution of the modern sailboard
was published in American Windsurfer
over a decade ago and is briefly reported here:
Patents; "A blow by blow of how the inventor of windsurfing found his place in the sun". - 1998 New York Times
Had Jim not introduced the asymmetrical rig with a wishbone boom
the sport would not have seen such wide popularity.
These additions made the sailboard more efficient and
easier to learn.

We all owe Jim for his contributions to our sport.
May he rest in peace.


Chad M Lyons
Windsurfing Historian
Branford, CT, USA
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DanWeiss



Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Posts: 2296
Location: Connecticut, USA

PostPosted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 8:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Chad, thank you so much for your post. I had the pleasure of meeting Jim and his family a number of years ago at Island Creek in Avon, NC. He allowed me to sail one of the very early Serenity boards and we enjoyed several wonderful conversations. As a history major, I took the opportunity to draft a my own history of windsurfing as my final submission in a post-war US History survey course. Jim featured strongly and the paper got the "A" it deserved despite being something other than expected.

Conventional wisdom is to be wary of meeting one's heros. Well, Jim certainly lived up to his reputation as a hero of mine.

My best to his family, I know he is greatly missed.

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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Wed Jun 27, 2012 8:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

How dare you spoil a memorial thread with your ^@#&*##%Q&#& spam, you ratbag! Do you not realize you're driving away customers?
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TeamChad



Joined: 17 Feb 2009
Posts: 8

PostPosted: Wed Jul 04, 2012 7:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I won't dignify the remark about the memorial thread.

An accurate account of Jim's life posted last night on the New York Times website:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/04/business/jim-drake-creator-of-the-windsurfer-dies-at-83.html

Now that's an Obit!

Chad M Lyons
Windsurfing Historian
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TeamChad



Joined: 17 Feb 2009
Posts: 8

PostPosted: Fri Jul 13, 2012 8:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

A prime example of a story riddled with misinformation:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2168880/Jim-Drake-Rocket-engineer-invented-Windsurfing-board-1960s-dies-aged-83.html

Note at the bottom of the story: "We are no longer accepting comments on this article."

The publisher cut off the comment section under the story.
The editor has not responded to my email efforts to correct the story.

Chad
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