These days most people have an idea of what surfing is. To begin with I am going to give a brief explanation as to the history of the sport of surfing according to the British Surfing Association.

In the beginning...

There was once a king of Hawaii who was on a visit to his people of an outer island. The whole village turned out to meet him, as his outrigger was seen entering the bay, the people let out a mighty cheer. Their joy however was short lived. Almost immediately, the outrigger was caught in the powerful swell whihc broke on the reef protecting the shore, and it was dashed headlong into the trough. The paddlers attemped to keep the royal canoe stable, but it was soon swamped by the breaking wave.

The king and all of his entrourage were plunged into the swirling waters. The cheering on the beach turned to cries of horror as the people saw the crewman dissappearing beneath the powerful waves. But the king alone survived. When he came to he found himselfsitting astride a log of wood (the outrigger spar of the shattered canoe) and in this postion was rapidly moving towards the shore. The peoples cries turned to cheers as they realised their king had been saved. The king in his turn stood up to acknowledge the welcome. Thus standing on the log, he rode over a mile into shore while the vociferous welcome echoed the bay ...

The story of King Karamalehua is however unauthenticated, but there is no doubt that surfing is in fact an very ancient sport. Historians agree that Polynesians were having fun with the wheel while the Brits were preoccupies with the wheel.

Surfing is has grown into a global sport over the years with people now surfing in countries from Alaska to Norway. The essence of surfing is also the travelling that is involved in searching for a perfect wave. The photograph below shows what some people would consider to be 'Perfect Waves'.