January A patent for the Free-Sail System was issued to Jim Drake and Hoyle Schweitzer. The first windsurfing regatta was organized by Hoyle and Diane at the Malibu Yacht Club. see invitation   Allen Parducci sailing at Malibu Yacht Club. February First issue of Windsurfer News. This one-page newsletter would become a fully-grown four-color magazine. see newsletter read a story about about newsletter

March First production board was manufactured. Hoyle Schweitzer commissioned a "master" hot rod parts maker, Bill Cushionberry, to hand-form an aluminum mold. Colorful sails in the Sea of Cortez. April The first Sea of Cortez Regatta was held at Bahia Santa Maria in Baja California, Mexico. This was an important place for windsurfing because at the time the boards were named Baja Boards, after this location. This regatta lasted for 20 years.

Boards work well also as tables and wind blocks. May Dupont Magazine did an article on the Windsurfer and the board's construction. This plastics industry magazine — distributed nationally and internationally — presented one of the first articles describing the Windsurfer. This article attracted consumers and businesses (some international) who wanted more information. Many people ordered a board sight unseen, or showed up unannounced at the Schweitzer home to take lessons or learn more about this captivating sailing board. see article

September Hoyle and Diane displayed the Windsurfer at the Chicago Boat Show (held in Detroit that year). They drove to Detroit with their boards and discovered many new windsurfing spots and adventures, told only like Diane could tell it in Windsurfing News. read newsletter October Hoyle and son Matt took their Windsurfers to the epicenter of competitive one design sailing, the America's Teacup Regatta. A complete outsider to the world of competitive sailing, Hoyle competed with his Windsurfer against established one design boats. This was a major crossroads for Hoyle and the Windsurfer. read more

Hoyle ticketed for not wearing a PFD (personal flotation device). Hoyle got a ticket (the first of many) for sailing in Marina del Rey without a personal flotation device. This may sound insignificant, but imagine having to wear a PFD every time you went windsurfing. This marked the beginning of a long battle that Hoyle and Diane fought locally, and many other people throughout the US also fought. In 1970, 189 Windsurfers were sold. Just over ten years later, there were over 200,000 worldwide.

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