Surfing

The sport of Hawaiian kings, that in many ways is more a lifestyle and mantra, than a recreation.

Well we are called Surfer Dude Studios for a reason.

Surfing refers to the act of riding a wave, regardless of whether the wave is ridden with a board or without a board, and regardless of the stance used. There are several versions of the sport - Wind surfing, kite surfing, body-boarding etc, but the modern-day definition of surfing most often refers to a surfer, riding a wave, standing up on a surfboard.

It's an invigorating activity that while dependant upon confidence and a strong ability to swim, rewards enthusiasim, practice and experimentation. It's also probably one of the most community driven activities in the world where members will recognise each other with few clear indicators beyond the same confidence and a strong sense of belonging to that community (much like web development).

History

The riding of waves has likely existed since humans began swimming in the ocean, it is a behaviours that can be seen not only in humans but in marine mammals such as dolphins, porpoises and seals also. In this sense, bodysurfing is the oldest type of wave-catching. Standing up on what is now called a surfboard is a relatively recent innovation developed by the Polynesians. The influences for modern surfing can be directly traced to the surfers of pre-contact Hawaii.

Surfing may have first been observed by British explorers at Tahiti in 1767. Samuel Wallis and the crew members of HMS Dolphin who were the first Britons to visit the island in June of that year. Another candidate is the botanist Joseph Banks being part of the first voyage of James Cook on HMS Endeavour, who arrived on Tahiti on 10 April 1769.

Importantly though, Lieutenant James King was the first person to write about the art of surfing on Hawaii, while completing the journals of Captain James Cook upon Cook's death in 1779

He went out from the shore till he was near the place where the swell begins to take its rise and, watching its first motion very attentively, paddled before it with great quickness, till (it) had acquired sufficient force to carry his canoe before it without passing underneath. He sat motionless, and was carried along at the same swift rate as the wave, till it landed him on the beach.
Then he started out... and went in search of another swell.
I could not help concluding that this man felt the most supreme pleasure while his was driven so fast and smoothly by the sea.
Lieutenant James King (circa 12th August to 30th September 1777)

However, after contact with the Western World, Polynesian culture was forced to change. Western diseases spread and colonization began, plantations were built, and immigration started. Native populations, mixed with imported workers from Asia, were put to work on sugar plantations, missionaries attempted to turn the population from their traditional beliefs into Christians. As part of the suppression of traditional culture was the suppression of surfing, often viewed as frivolous at best, at worst a hot-bed of sin due to the mixing of scantily clad, sexes in pursuit of a simple hedonistic pleasure.

The modern era

It was not until Hawaii became a tourist destination that surfing began a resurgence in popularity. Particularly wealthy Americans came to the beach and saw the locals occasionally surfing what had long been an established surf break (Waikiki), and wanted to try it. Mark Twain attempted it after encountering locals prcaticing the activity in 1866.

In one place we came upon a large company of naked natives, of both sexes and all ages, amusing themselves with the national pastime of surf-bathing.
Mark Twain (1866)

By all accounts Twain struggled (but we can still hope he enjoyed trying). Twain was not the only American writer to give the sport a go, Jack London tried it while visiting Hawaii. He chronicled it enthusiastically in an essay entitled "A Royal Sport" published in October of 1907.

By the early Twentieth century surfing had started to spread around the globe to North America and Australia. Its first stars were David Kawānanakoa, Edward Keli̒iahonui and Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana̒ole. In 1907 George Freeth would join the new ranks of celebrity surfer. Freeth was brought to California from Hawaii, to demonstrate surfboard riding as a publicity stunt to promote the opening of the Los Angeles-Redondo-Huntington railroad. Freeth surfed at the Huntington Beach pier and travelled up and down the coast demonstrating surfing and life guard skills.

Surfing progressed tremendously in the 20th century, through innovations in board design, and wetsuit development, permitting the sport to be undertaken in more temperate weather conditions. However it was the increasing public exposure, that really drove forward its development, with the recognition of its subculture, particularly through movies like Gidget (1959), and surf music from the likes of the Beach Boys and Surfaris.

Today surfing is a multibillion-dollar industry, especially in clothing and fashion markets. It has a professional body, The World Surf League (WSL), responsible for professional tours and competition. Surfing culture has grown and continues to be both industry, sport, art, and comming full circle to its Polynesian origins a spiritual or a religious experience.

How to surf

So not to put too fine a point on it, what exactly is surfing? And most importantly what is the difference between it and drowning?

Well that depends on how exactly you wish to surf.

Longboard surfing: Polynesian style - standing up on a large board
Wind surfing: With a small sail attached to the board
Body boarding: Lying down on a small board
Paddle boarding: Standing up / kneeling and using a paddle
Kite surfing: Using a kite to pull you along
Web surfing*: Redundant 90ies term for browsing the web

*Okay you can obviously ignore that one

Lieutenant James King, in describing the Hawaiian local he observed riding the surf, probably came up with the most apt, if not clinical, description for surfing - being carried along by a wave for pleasure.

In Polynesian surfing, bodyboarding, and even in a kayak or canoe, or even with a paddle board the same principle applies, gain momentum to 'catch' the forward or deep facing edge of a moving swell or wave.

All have their own variations from there, bodyboarding involves no need to stand up on the board, but once the wave is caught various tricks can be attempted involving a degree of agility and gymnastic skill.

Windsurfing, and kitesurfing involve the use of wind power to carry the board and its rider along, but in effect require the same skill sets of balance and agility. These versions are dependent upon there being sufficient wind however. But the advantage is that they can carry the rider for further and longer than just catching a wave.

Paddle boarding can be much more relaxing as it involves use of a paddle to provide momentum, so when the waves and wind are calm one can still surf, but again the skills, and agility required to do this are similar, and all are simply means of being carried across a body of water.

Something more extreme

Some surfers however have taken the sport to a more extreme level. For big wave riding, something more substantial to match the speed of the wave is required, and jet-skis and small boats are used to give the rider enough speed to catch the bigger and faster waves. This version is for only the very best though, and due to the conditions, a jet-ski can become a vital piece of lifesaving equipment.

Where are the best places to surf?

This is probably the more important question than "How do you surf?". Where is a more complicated question than the obvious "at a beach". Take the picture at the top, looks pretty good doesn't it? But it's not actually appropriate for several reasons;

There's no surf or swell, that sea is flatter than a fresh crepe,
There's rocks on the left, the section of beach to the right is good, but there's not much of it,
Where is everyone? Particularly if you're a beginner, the notion of a beach to yourself might not actually be safe.

A good surfing beach will be obstruction free and have a swell to enable surfing. It's also likely already been found by someone else. Nobody wants an overcrowded beach but it's always useful to have others going about at least and no two beaches are ever the same, there's going to be differences that have to be observed at least and local knowledge will always help, not just in terms of safety, but for making the most of the experience.

As mentioned chances are somebody will have found the place before you. Signs of a good location are things like shops selling and renting the necessary wetsuits and boards, parking for vehicles, and accommodation nearby, adverts for surfing schools and lessons, and particularly important if you're starting out, and / or not a competent swimmer, lifeguarding stations.

Safety

Even the professionals make use of lifeguards. The major competitions take safety very seriously and have a wide range of resources available to assist in a rescue. But even on a smaller, gentler beach lifeguarding is taken seriously and it helps to know the flags you may well see.

Red / yellow - Lifeguard on duty between the flags

Red - Water activities prohibited between the flags

White / Black - Surfing only between the flags

It's important to note that safety starts with individuals. Knowing your limits and being aware of others around you is not just a courtesy, it's to prevent accidents. Observing the flags for example keeps swimmers safe. It's probably the most important factor in a good surfing location. If it's as safe as possible, it will be enjoyable.

But where's the best place to surf?

So obviously there's the classics. Places like;

Waikiki, Hawaii
Huntington beach California
Gold coast Australia
South Africa

But there's an increasing number of other locations (particullarly in Europe) that offer a spectrum of challenge and location. These are just a few;

Scotland - pretty much everywhere,
Ireland's Atlantic coast,
Bay of Biscay,
Portuguese coast,
Cornwall

All of these locations have seen a rise in popularity, and events like Newquay festival, Wick, St Nazaire are now significant surfing events.