Hang gliding is an air sport. It is both recreational and competitive. The sport is closely related to paragliding and gliding (flying sailplanes) but using a much simpler and less expensive craft consisting of an aluminum – or composite-framed fabric wing, with the pilot mounted on a harness hanging from the wing frame and exercising control by shifting body weight.
Water skiing is a surface water sport and recreational activity is often said to have been invented in Lake City, Minnesota in 1922 by Ralph Samuelson. Rivers, lakes, and sheltered bays are all popular for water skiing. Standard water skis are of similar length to downhill snow skis but are somewhat wider. Skiers are pulled along by a rope with a handle fitted at one end and attached to a powerboat at the other. Recreational skiers usually learn to ski with a ski on each foot, but as they improve usually progress to using a single ski, placing the other foot into another binding behind the main one. Beginners on two skis are usually pulled along at around 25–35 kilometers per hour, whereas more advanced social skiers travel at between 40 and 55 kilometers per hour – once confidence is gained it is actually easier to travel faster than at slower speeds because of the greater lift and stability.
Sailing is the skillful art of controlling the motion of a sailing ship or sailboat, across a body of water. Sailing vessels are propelled by the force of the wind on sails. Today, for most people, sailing is recreation, an activity pursued for the joy of being on the water and pursuing the mastery of the skills needed to maneuver a sailboat in varying sea and wind conditions. Recreational sailing can be further divided into Racing, Cruising and “Daysailing.”
Windsurfing is a surface water sport using a windsurf board, also commonly called a sailboard, usually two to five meters long and powered by a single sail. A windsurfer is steered by the tilting and rotating of the mast and sail as well as tilting and carving the board. The sport combines aspects of both sailing and surfing, along with certain athletic aspects shared with other board sports like skateboarding, snowboarding, waterskiing, and wakeboarding. Windsurfers were the first to ride the world’s largest waves, such as Jaws on the island of Maui, and, with very few exceptions, it was not until the advent of tow-in surfing that waves of that size became accessible to surfers.