Sunday, July 22, 2012

The history of surfing

Native Polynesian surf and was described in 1769 when Captain James Cook arrived in Tahiti. Hawaii, surfing was considered an art form as much as it is a sport and recreational activities. Temples were dedicated to navigation and Hawaiian would call their priests to pray for the good waves.

Everyone has surfed in Hawaii, including women and children, but the best waves and beaches are open only to the ruling class. Arrival of missionaries in the 1820s, they seek to transform the Hawaiian culture which get rid of surfing where the nearly naked men and women mingle freely work. Surf went into decline until the early 20th century, when it was taken over by Alexander Hume Ford and Jack London. Ford lived in Waikiki trying to promote Hawaii as a tourist destination and realized that the surf could become a point of sale. Jack London, arrived in Waikiki, he was already a famous author. Ford introduced the sport in London and he falls immediately in love. In 1907, London wrote "A Royal Sport: surfing in Waikiki" which was published in several magazines and has attracted much attention. In 1908, Ford asked the Trustees of the estate of Queen Emma to set aside a plot of land next to the Moana hotel in Waikiki for a club of canoe-kayak and surf. In the Ford fund raising manifesto, he described a club which would "give an additional and permanent attraction in Hawaii and make Waikiki still the home of the surfer, and perhaps a surfboard annual Outrigger Canoe Carnival that goes far to spread abroad the attractions of Hawaii, the only Islands in the world where men and boys up erect on the crests of the waves.". Petition of Ford has worked and the Trustees of the estate of Queen Emma founded the Hawaiian Outrigger Canoe Club, first modern club dedicated to the perpetuation of the wave-riding.

A few years later than Hawaii and most famous waterman Duke Kahanamoku champion Olympic swimming spread the sport abroad giving demonstrations that he has traveled the globe. Kahanamoku is widely credited with surfing the long wave of history, a wave near Waikiki which carried more than a thousand.

There are many great surf in Hawaii breaks. Our Hawaii iPhone app these notes as you drive around the island.

Tags: history of surfing

0 comments:

Post a Comment