Surfing Traced Back to Hawaii

The Origins of Surfing: From Polynesia to Hawaii

The first European Visit to the islands of Hawaii

The 1st ever European trip to the islands of Hawaii was way back in 1778, lead by Captain James Cook with his crew to their 3rd journey to the Pacific. Cook reached a stopover in the Great Island of Hawaii and this led him to get destroyed by the Hawaiians immediately after he had a risky plan to kidnap the Hawaiian's High chief. Captain James Cook is actually acknowledged currently as being the well-known European Traveler who uncovered Hawaii.

Just after his death, his leadership has been passed on to First Lieutenant James King who was simply presented with the obligation to finish the narrative portions of Cook's journal. Lt. King committed his life in the journey which actually caused him to watch the earliest people who practiced surfing. In his writing, Cook stated in full detail just how these people (Hawaiians) look at surfing as a vital piece of the Hawaiian tradition, religion as well as myths of the islands. And then it became the earliest written account about surfing.

In two filled pages of his journal, he depicted surf riding as employed by the citizens in Kealakekua Bay on the Kona coast of the Great Island. He labeled it as the "Sport of Kings", an old Hawaiian culture that requires lying down or standing on extensive, hardwood surfboards and then driving on great waves in the sea in a tremendous pace.

In 1779, Surfing wasn't solely a sport or a mere recreational hobby to Hawaiians; it's much more of an art that is significantly rooted within their culture. Hawaiians refer to it as he'e nalu and this means wave sliding. Expertise of the skills made common people within Hawaii well-known with the way they carry themselves within the ocean waves.

Several chiefs of the Big Island have been strongly deemed for their surfing abilities. Through these days, the chiefs or ali'i have allocated reefs and beach where they surfed. Alternatively, there had also been reefs and beaches where commoners will be able to surf. Commoners usually rode the ocean waves with surfboards which reach 12 feet high, while the ali'I rode the waves with boards which had been as huge as 24 feet.

When Captain Cook arrived at The hawaiian islands, surfing had been profoundly rooted within the Hawaiian culture and myths. There were places labeled after legendary surfing incidents, there had been wonderful chants created by the expert surfers ("kahuna") to baptize new surfboards, and also to support people who challenged the sizeable sea waves. There had also been legendary legends declared with regards to the lives risked, brave ocean deeds by chiefs and commoners, love pairs made and broken due to surfing