Apparatus for creating water sports ramp

Apparatus is provided for creating the ramp or "jump" in the water, much like a ski jump, but being constructed such that a rather thick layer beneath the top surface is non-integral to permit the fin of the windsurfer to pass therethrough. The maintenance of this non-integral layer may be created in several ways, the simplest being the utilization of a water jet or jets somewhat beneath the water level which create a continuous mound or ramp of water. Other approaches utilize a thick layer of bristles saturated with water, and a layer of gel.

The sport of surfing is now decades old, reaching a high plateau of 
popularity probably in the late 1950's and early 1960's. In those times 
and to a large extent consistently until the present, part of the national 
attention has been focused on the romantic, carefree living that is 
perceived to exist in California, and which has been most exemplified, at 
least to young people, by the sport of surfing. Although people living 
inland have the advantage of movies, magazines, and the Beach Boys, 
nevertheless, the great masses of people not having access to the 
generally large waves produced by the Pacific Ocean could not experience 
the thrill of surfing. To enable inland people to enjoy surfing on their 
waveless lakes, the sailboard was developed about twenty years ago. 
The first sailboard, or windsurfer, was only invented a couple of decades 
ago but already the popularity of the sport, especially in Europe, is 
staggering. There are many sailboard manufacturers, there are magazines 
directed specifically toward the sport, and there are competition events 
all over the world. 
One of the more spectacular uses of the sailboard is the jump off of an 
ocean wave. As memorialized in the magazines dealing with the sport, an 
expert sailboarder can fly off waves and achieve elevations of up to six 
or eight feet, achieving a feeling of exhiliration that is surely 
wonderful. In fact, still photos in a magazine provide one of the few 
opportunities to show the speed and the thrill that sailboards produce. 
Unfortunately, most people do not live within driving range of an ocean 
that produces large, jumpable waves. Whereas the sailboard enables 
inlanders to experience to some extent the feeling of surfing without 
having waves, nevertheless, the thrill of actually jumping the waves is 
absent. To enable these inlanders to enjoy the thrill of wave jumping, 
there is a need for some type of apparatus that will produce a water ramp, 
similar to a ski ramp but made of water rather than wood, that the 
sailboarders can sail into and over. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The invention fulfills the above-stated need by providing a ramp surface 
which has a non-integral top layer deep enough to permit the fin of the 
windsurfer to pass through it, with this layer also having sufficient mass 
to act like water. This layer is created in several alternative ways. 
First, it is done with the creation of a powerful upcurrent, preferably 
just beneath the water's surface, which causes a mound or ramp of water to 
stand over the water surface for jumping by sailboarders and the like. 
Water jets positioned at or below the water surface, in various 
configurations, produce either an elongated ramp as a result of a line of 
jets, or one or more mounds which can be approached from any angle. In the 
preferred embodiments, the jets are held in place by floats and anchors so 
that they may be moved from lake to lake. In use, the floats hold the jets 
at just the right elevation which, of course, is important to their proper 
functioning. 
In another embodiment, the non-integral layer is provided by means of a mat 
of deep bristles, with water being pumped into the bristle layer at the 
top, and preferably at different levels down the slope as well. The 
bristles tend to retard the flow of water downhill, and enable a smaller 
pump to be used than would be required for the water mound. While 
adequately maintaining an adequate mass of water in the bristle layer to 
support a moving sailboard. 
In yet another embodiment, a gel is used, either alone or in conjunction 
with retaining bristles, to hold water in suspension. If a thin gel is 
used, it slides slowly down the ramp without the support of bristles or 
other structure and therefore would be used in conjunction with a pump 
similar to the embodiment mentioned above to continually re-deliver the 
gel to the upper reaches of the ramp. 
In the optimal implementation of the invention a platform floating adjacent 
to the jets mounts the pump and the pump engine, and may also provide a 
teaching platform whereby an instructor can coach his jumpers. This is a 
very important aspect of the invention, inasmuch as the amount of 
instruction that one can receive in the ocean, and particularly when 
jumping ocean waves, is naturally rather limited by the environmental 
circumstances. 
Along the same line, although wave jumping competition is very popular, 
judging the contestants is by no means scientific. Compared to a broad 
jump on land, where the exact location the heels land can be easily 
determined, the length of a jump on an ocean wave, again by dint of the 
environment, is impossible to gauge accurately. The same is true with the 
height. Thus, competitive events in which height and/or distance are 
important cannot be accurately judged in the ocean. But they can be 
accurately judged on the fresh water ramp of the instant invention. 
Also, by controlling the jump, the ramp can be brought near the coastline 
of a lake, running orthogonally to the shore so that the onlookers can get 
a side view of the jump, which is much more revealing than the front view. 
Onlookers at a beach can only get closeups of the front view because the 
wave runs parallel to the shore. 
Yet another advantage of having a controlled jump rather than an ocean wave 
lies in safety to both the sailboarder and his sailboard. In ocean waves, 
if the sailboarder does not land on his feet after a jump, but is instead 
in the water with his sail floating on the surface, the next wave could 
prove to be disastrous to the rider and even worse to his equipment. If he 
can't get out of the wave before it crashes, there is almost certain to be 
some destruction and/or bodily injury. 
The controlled, single ramp naturally eliminates this problem inasmuch as 
there is no wave to crash on the rider whether or not he lands on his 
feet. In addition to saving equipment, this enables jumpers to learn how 
to jump waves in a safe environment so that when they do go out into the 
ocean they won't risk body and equipment while progressing up the learning 
curve.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Although it would, of course, be possible to have a fixed ramp system which 
is more or less mounted in a lake for the season, in all of the preferred 
embodiments, everything is removable so that the system can be taken from 
lake to lake. This also, of course, expedites maintenance of the system. 
In the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 a raft 10 floats to pump 12 and the 
motor 14 which drives the pump and communicates to the main part of the 
ramp through a flexible connector 16. The raft or floating platform 
ideally would be large enough and of sufficient buoyancy to support at 
least one person, such as the instructor for one or more sailboard 
students. The raft is anchored by suitable tethered anchors 18 which do 
not have to be too elaborate inasmuch a there would not be strong currents 
in inland waterways, unless it is used on a river. 
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the jets 20 are arranged along a single 
straight manifold 22. The manifold takes the form of a rigid pipe and is 
supported at each end by floats 24 tethered to anchors 26. The jets 20 are 
at least semi-rigid and thus require protection so that a sailboarder or 
his equipment does not come crashing down onto a rigid pipe and get 
injured. The jets could either be somewhat flexible, or they could be 
covered by a fairing 28 as shown in FIG. 2. If the jets are as close 
together as shown in FIG. 1, the fairing can be continuous, covering all 
of the jets. The fairing could also be made of rigid foam, such as the 
material the sailboards themselves are made of, so that the fairing also 
doubles as flotation means. 
FIG. 3 illustrates the approximate wave shape that it would be desired to 
produce in the arrangement shown in FIG. 1. This could be augmented by the 
addition of one or more additional manifolds 30 with their jets 20 as 
shown in dotted line in FIG. 1. This would produce a higher ramp, and one 
having a different configuration. The central row of jets could be the 
same as the additional manifolds, or it could provide a greater water flow 
by virtue of being larger in diameter or closer to the water's surface. 
This would be in keeping with the desire to have the central portion of 
the ramp as high as possible, sloping down in most directions laterally. 
FIG. 4 illustrates yet another modification wherein the top of a special 
jet 30 is mounted in a spherical foam mass for the same purpose fairing 
28. That is, it doubles as protection for the windsurfer, and is a float 
to hold the jet in the upright position. Jets of this type can be 
positioned in any fashion desirable, such as being several in number on a 
flexible, free-floating octopus supply line, or being rigid. A rigid 
arrangement shown in FIG. 7, produced by having the jets spaced 
sufficiently apart as the area between the jets is more or less at the 
normal surface height of the body of water, provides different challenges 
to the sailboarder than the embodiment shown in FIG. 1. The arrangement of 
FIG. 7 would allow the sailboarder to divert his course between the mounds 
at the last minute if he lost nerve. The mound shape provided by the 
single jet would also yield somewhat more flexibility in approach and 
trajectory for the sailboarder. 
FIG. 5 illustrates a generally circular configuration wherein a mound is 
created with additional jets, similar to the addition of the line of jets 
shown in phantom in FIG. 1. Undoubtedly, experimentation with different 
arrangements of jets to provide different surface configurations of the 
water mound will yield different thrills and offer different challenges to 
sailboarders. 
FIG. 6 illustrates the possibility of angling the jets slightly toward one 
another to produce a more concentrated upflow of water. This could be done 
in a configuration such as shown in FIG. 1, or in a mound configuration 
such as illustrated in FIG. 5. The possibilities are vast. 
A number of options and modifications of the water jet embodiments as shown 
come to mind. As indicated above, the pumping system could be land-based 
as well as built on a raft. Different configurations of jets for producing 
different shapes that will yield a variety of different effects when the 
windsurfer banks. Other means of securing the system in place besides the 
anchor shown, such as tethers, would be possible. 
Turning now to the embodiment in FIG. 8, the same concept of the floating 
ramp is used by the provision of an open-celled foam wedge 32. By being 
open-celled, the ramp 6 somewhat in the water as shown in FIG. 8 rather 
than being right at the surface. An example of a suitable material is 
two-pound open cell Urethane.TM.foam. 
The foam supports the top layer 34, which in this embodiment consists of a 
multiplicity of closely spaced, long bristles 36. In the preferred 
embodiment bristles these would be coated with teflon.TM.), or other low 
friction surface, to pass the fin and board across the bristle layer with 
minimum drag. 
A piping system 38 delivers water, pumped up from the water body by pump 
40, to the upper levels of the incline as well as to levels spaced along 
the surface. The planar surface of the foam 32 and the latteral foam 
siderails 41 prevent the water from escaping other than running down the 
surface, and the bristles 36 so impede the water that the water level is 
maintained substantially at the surface 42 defined by the bristles. 
Naturally, the strength of the pump 40, the water flow, and the density of 
the bristles 36 must be balanced to achieve this effect. Ballast 44 can be 
used to maintain the proper position and orientation of the ramp. 
FIG. 9 is a slight modification in which the ramp utilizes, rather than 
bristles, a series of slits 46 cut in a sponge-like material 48 shown in 
FIG. 10. The ramp also has tapered sides 50 to stabilize the unit in high 
winds. Although the slits are possible as shown in FIG. 9 for straight 
jumps, they are very limited, as a diagonnal jump would not be possible, 
and the board would have to be maintained very straight by the rider to 
enable the fin to properly slide in the slits. If the momentum of the wind 
surfer were such that substantial side slippage were necessary, an 
accident might occur. 
And yet another embodiment shown in FIG. 11, a layer of gel 52 is used for 
the non-integral layer. A stiff gel will remain on the platform with a 
minimum of support without slipping, but provides resistance to the fin 
and bottom surface of the windsurfer hull. A less rigid gel can be used, 
but requires at least some bristles to hold it in place, although not the 
same density of bristle required for the embodiment shown in FIG. 8. 
Without the bristles it would slide downhill, requiring the use of a pump 
such as pump 40 to return it to the top. A gel collecting system at the 
bottom of the ramp collects the gel as it slides to the bottom and 
delivers it to the pump. 
Turning now to FIG. 12, this embodiment is not limited to any particular 
embodiment of the non-integral layer, except that the slits 46 would not 
work well. The embodiment shown in FIG. 12 is used for rebound type action 
rather than flying over the top of the ramp. The action would be somewhat 
similar to the action of a skateboard on the curved complex plane of the 
inside of a swimming pool or skateboard run. 
In addition to use by sailboarders, which is the primary thrust of the 
invention, it would be also useable by other water sportsters such as jet 
ski riders, and even skiers, who would might like the somewhat different 
effect achieved from jumping from a water ramp rather than a rigid wooden 
version. The possibilities are virtually limitless. 
While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been described, other 
modifications may be made thereto and other embodiments may be devised 
within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.