I first met Jim in Maui in 2000 when he was having his first kitesurfing lesson in his seventies. I have since that time caught up with him 5 or 6 times in Thailand and he has always had heaps of interesting projects that he has been working on be it with Starboard or the US government.
RIP Jim, you will be missed.
Pics etc
http://www.star-board.com/2012/news_events/read.php?post_name=5931
In memory of Jim Drake
"Jim Drake changed the lives of millions of people and will continue to do so.
Windsurfing has made people experience the wind, waves and water in new ways.
The sport has made converts travel and even settle on the opposite side of our planet.
His spirit was always to include everyone and especially women and kids into windsurfing.
Jim and his wife Sam spent years with us in Thailand developing designs and strategies to
increase the popularity of windsurfing. He was always optimistic and especially happy to
challenge the status quo. His view on “one design” versus free choice of windsurfing gear
for the Olympics was well known. His designs, like the Formula 175, the worlds most winning
race board ever took competitive windsurfing to a new level.
Jim was an early adaptor of paddle boarding and he has helped design a number of winning
designs like the K15. Some of his later designs are still being tested and his ideas on the future
of paddle board designs may soon be shared.
He had so much more to give and reminded us on how precious each hour of life is."
Svein Rasmussen and the Starboard family.
