The top of Connor Baxter's white-blond head can barely be seen in a gathering of the rest of the world's top windsurfers. But his small size is no indication of his undeniable talent.

Connor, 10, was the youngest winner at the windsurfing world championships, the Formula Experience World Championship, Aug. 1 to 6 at Hood River, Ore.

He won all eight races in the Fleet C - FT / 7.5m2 division.

"I thought I would be winning worlds a little older, so it's a little shock," he said. "Winning at 10 years old is really cool."

He competes in the 13-and-under division, and is usually the youngest competitor entered in any event. That doesn't mean his level of professionalism or competition is any lower.

"I'm really competitive when there are contests," Connor said. "I'm really focused, and if my friends are there, I'm playing with them, but not like I will usually play with them."

He also won the US Windsurfing National Championships, July 25 to 30, at Hood River, Ore., winning six of eight races to capture the title.

Windsurfing usually involves four different types of competition: slalom, or straight racing, wave riding, freestyle, in which tricks are performed, and course racing, which includes many types of classes (formula, FE, Olympic, etc.).

Both the world and national competitions were course racing. Connor prefers freestyle, "because you get to do cool tricks and stuff."

Connor, of Pukalani, Maui, grew up in and around the water, with help from his mother, Karen, and father Keith, both entrepreneurs involved in the windsurfing business.

Karen Baxter, formerly Karen Calvert, was a world champion windsurfer, and Keith Baxter won a world hobie cat title.

"Unfortunately (Connor) has no choice," other than to be active in the water, said his father.

NATURAL IN THE WATER

Connor's first memory of being in the water was when he was surfing and boogie boarding with his parents.

"We were on Lana'i, and they just got me in the water," said Connor, who was about 3 at the time. "They carried me in the water, and it was pretty nice."

Keith said he took his son swimming at a very young age, and put him on his surfboard when Connor was 1.

When Connor was about 5, Keith attached a water ski handlebar to the nose of a sail board, and told Connor to stand up and lean back as Keith sailed around.

"It just got Connor so excited. Maybe that helped," Keith said.

Connor started windsurfing at age 8 1/2. He also is active in surfing, paddleboarding, skimboarding, and kneeboarding. It was a natural progression for him to pick up his father's sails.

"My dad is a watersport man, too, and he wanted me to try it, too," Connor said. "Once I started, it was really fun, so I kept on going with the sport."

SPONSORS LINE UP

That has led him to several sponsorships, including a Nike contract signed in July. Keith Baxter declined to disclose the amount of the contract, but said it was "a good amount, a great sponsorship; incredible for a 10-year-old."

Connor, a sixth-grader at Cardin Academy, is also sponsored by Starboard Windsurfing International, North Sails International, Isthmus Sailboards, DaKine Hawaii, North Shore Fins, Santa Cruz Skateboards, and Masterline Tow-In Accessories.

Which comes in handy, especially because the Baxters were spending up to $30,000 a year on their son in travel costs.

"But that opened up doors for his sponsors," Keith Baxter said. "Every one of his sponsors, he's on the international team, mainly because he's going to international events.

"Now they are helping us with the travel, and of course his equipment. Forty-five thousand dollars worth of equipment because you can't buy it. It is all custom-made for his size," Keith Baxter said. "The cool thing about him is that he'll go down to the beach, and he'll say, 'Hey, try this, try this.' He's so generous. I love that."

Because Connor is smaller than most wind surfers (he's 4 feet 9, 67 pounds), having his sails custom-made was an important part of his progress and success.

"Bigger sails are harder to pull up out of the water, because there is more material and it's heavier," Connor said. "My new sails have less material, so it is easier to pull up out of the water."

APPRECIATING HISTORY

Growing up in and around the water, Connor is very aware of the history of ocean sports, and has his heroes, including Laird Hamilton, Dave Kalama, Rush Randall and Robbie Nash.

"I read about it myself, and my dad knows a lot of these people, and he introduced them to me. Now I see them around and they give me good tips about being a good waterman," he said.

Through windsurfing, he has been able to travel to places such as the Philippines, Indonesia, and Taiwan.

"It's really nice to go there and see the different cultures and how they live; it's really nice," Connor said.

YOUNG AMBASSADOR

His success also has created a dual role for him as both an athlete and an ambassador for windsurfing's youth movement, which he is happy to be. He puts on clinics, with a lot of participants around his age.

"We want to get the kids into the sport so it has a future," Connor said. "They are getting more and more little kids. Windsurfing will be going on for a long time, and that's what they want. People see me and say, 'If he's doing it, and he's 10 years old, then my kid can do it.' "

Although he has only been in the sport for about 1 1/2 years, Connor is proficient enough to read the weather conditions, including wave sizes and wind speed, and decide what tricks he wants to perform or how he wants to attack a course.

It helps that he practices almost every day for about five or six hours.

"This summer is really hot, and it's nice to get in the water, plus I love the sport," Connor said.

Reach Leila Wai at lwai@honoluluadvertiser.com.