JIMMY LEWIS, "Da Fastest." Shaper for champions. He's been shaping boards since the age of 12, with over 50 years of boards slicing through waters like a shark. His shapes, featuring rail curves and rocker lines that flow both magically and skillfully from his hands into the boards that those lucky enough to ride experience. It's something hard to describe, a mastery only few among the myriad of shapers attain. He's not going to change those shapes to fit the whims of fashion. People can go elsewhere for those boards. His boards contain what he calls the "golden ratio," something he's figured out through time and templates and grinding enough foam dust to fill an arena, that arena full of stars who've taken his shapes and even those not stars who've done better for themselves than they could have done otherwise. Call it mana, call it magic, call it a shark with a skill hard to come by.
Jimmy was pretty quick as a rider as well, shaping boards for prototypes. He also crafted the boards from start to finish, engineering the process for production models like this one here.
Jimmy at Weymouth with one of his speed guns. He made them for Fred Haywood, Pascal Maka, and Erik Beale, breaking all kinds of records.
Your first windsurfing experience? "Kihei across the street from Suda Store. A friend had one of those original 12' Windsurfers (plastic kind) and a pal and I took it out there and struggled in the howling wind."
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Favorite minute of windsurfing? "Just before we were going to leave for the Canary Islands for the 1986 Nabisco Speed week, I took my new 8'1" X 13" wide speed board with the 4msq Gaastra speed sail for a test run and the acceleration I was getting was something that I'd never felt before on a windsurfer. This gave me the confidence that "I might have a chance" to do well in this event, if the wind was as strong."
What would you like to be remembered for in this sport? "Making the fastest boards during "our" reign in speed sailing."
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Favorite minute of windsurfing? "Just before we were going to leave for the Canary Islands for the 1986 Nabisco Speed week, I took my new 8'1" X 13" wide speed board with the 4msq Gaastra speed sail for a test run and the acceleration I was getting was something that I'd never felt before on a windsurfer. This gave me the confidence that "I might have a chance" to do well in this event, if the wind was as strong."
What would you like to be remembered for in this sport? "Making the fastest boards during "our" reign in speed sailing."
From the colors, would say this was Pascal Maka, Erik Beale, and maybe Roddy Lewis? All mudsharks. All fast as shit. Photo Jan Cas Smit
Mike could ride a door, but having Jimmy shape for him got him here. Photo Weston.
Erik Beale's quiver.
Fred and Jimmy were one.
Jimmy shaped a board at Mana Surfboards for Mike Waltze, three years before Sailboards Maui. One for Mark Robinson, too.
Jimmy with sons Marlon and Fred, lol. (He made Fred, too). Jimmy has made all flavors of windsurfing offshoots, like the flavor du jour foil board seen here.