Worthington Globe: Craig Bergh named Windsurfer of the Year

 Southern Minnesota is known for corn, cows, renewable energy--and windsurfing. Really.

The Worthington Globe reports that a Nobles County man is being honored for his work in promoting speed surfing:

Worthington’s windy reputation got another boost in windsurfing circles when a local resident was recently named U.S. Windsurfing’s Windsurfer of the Year.

Craig Bergh of Worthington is featured on the home page of www.uswindsurfing.org for his contributions to the sport of speed sailing through the Midwest Speed Quest.

Bergh's site promoting the sport, Midwest Speed Quest, is "all about the sport of GPS Speed Surfing." Speed surfers use mobile GPS devices to measure their speed; according to the site, the current world record is 49.09 knots (about 56.45 mph), set in France by Antoine Albeau.  Read more about the contest and Worthington at the site.

The Globe article concludes:

Bergh was one of several candidates considered for the honor of Windsurfer of the Year, according to USW President Jim McGrath of Berkeley, Calif.

“The windsurfer of the year is generally someone not in USW, not in the business,” McGrath explained during a phone interview. “The idea is to (recognize) somebody who promotes windsurfing in effective ways, in ways that get more people involved. I don’t know Craig that well, but he was there in Worthington and got a lot of people involved in what he was doing. At the end of the day, windsurfing is all about speed, the ability to go on the water fast. … Anything that increases speed eventually spills over to all the different facets of sailing.”

Bergh said he is “most honored” to have been named Windsurfer of the Year, particularly since MSQ is such a new endeavor. But he hopes the award will help to bring more attention to the sport of speed sailing and the community of Worthington as a windsurfing destination.

“I have tried to create another community-based event for Worthington to be proud of,” he said.

Pretty cool illustration of prairie pride and innovation. Bergh's site features historic pictures of people playing on Lake Okabena, including material more appropriate for chilly December days: ice sailing.

Photo: Worthington 's ice sailors in 1907.  Photo from the Historic Lake Okabena slideshow in the MSQ site.