Muscat 2010

Sailing, previously known as Yachting, developed as a sport from an ancient means of transport over water. It is thought to have begun in the Netherlands, with the word ‘yacht’ based on the Dutch word ‘jaght’, meaning ‘light shipping or naval craft’.

The sport was brought to England by King Charles II, who discovered it during his exile in the Netherlands in the mid-16th century.

International competition started in 1851 when an American crew sailed across the Atlantic to take part in a race around the Isle of Wight.

The event was re-named the America’s Cup, which remains the most prestigious competition in Sailing today.

The sport of Sailing at the Olympic Games now includes windsurfing and yachts of all sizes and shapes.

Windsurfing is a water sport that evolved from surfing. Windsurfing is where an athlete uses a windsurf board or sailboard between two to five meters long powered by the wind pushing a single sail which is attached to the board, a windsurfer is steered by the tilting and rotating of the mast and sail as well as tilting and carving the board.

Due to the design of the sailboard windsurfers can perform jumps, inverted loops, spinning manoeuvres, and other "freestyle" stunts which can be marked.

Windsurfing sports include speed sailing, slalom, course racing, wave sailing, and superX an extreme sport. Windsurfing was first incorporated into the Asian Beach Games in 2008.