Surfing

Surfing is a very old (literally ancient!) sport. Its history begins when people just started swimming in the ocean and, of course, tried to find something to swim on. Hawaii is considered the birthplace of modern surfing. Although, there is information about the surfers of Samoa and Tonga, who surpassed the Polynesians and Hawaiians in conquering the waves for a thousand years, but less is known about them. Actually, the goal to reach Paradise islands of Hawaii made Polynesians to cross huge distances of the ocean and also to conquer really big waves. They were doing this on special boards – prototypes of modern surfboards, which were completely different from any floating devices of that time.

In Hawaii surfing was not just a hobby, sport or entertainment, it was an integral part of the culture and even a religion. Special priests of Kahuna addressed to the gods that they sent down a good wave, and the priests performed special prayer ceremonies before riding on the waves. Preparation of wood for surfboards was also accompanied by religious rituals.

For the manufacture of surfboards only three types of wood were used, and the shape of the board was given by the tree chosen of the community. Surfing was an integral part of public and political life: the higher the social status, the more comfortable spots and better waves were given to the surfer.

Europeans learned about surfing, respectively, after the discovery of the American continent. It was first described in 1769 during the first journey of James Cook. And in 1821 it was already banned by the Church, like all the other pleasant and cheerful in this world. Sorry for the religiously incorrect joke. In fact, it was banned not as a sport, but as an integral part of an alien religion. After all, it really was not a sport or entertainment, but a serious shamanism.

But surfing, the same as waves, can not be stopped! Local residents continued to surf. Mark Twain, having visited Hawaii in the second half of the 19th century, wrote about large concentrations of naked natives of both sexes and all ages who entertained themselves with “surf-bathing”.

But let’s move on from the ancient to modern surfing – an international sport and a world-wide favorite hobby. The father of modern surfing is George Fritt, who surfed in the late 19th – early 20th century. He diligently tried to revive and popularize surfing, but did not have much success on the huge 16-foot boards. And then he decided to cut them in half to improve handling and ease of sliding. So, the two surfboard categories were born: longboards and shortboards.

On the mainland – the coast of California – surfing “jumped” in 1907 as part of an advertising action of a major real estate owner. He saw surfers during his vacation in Hawaii and was captivated by this spectacle.

Today surfing is popular all over the world, on all continents, in all climate and time zones. There are many different boards of different shapes and sizes. Surfing already has its own legendary personality. About him films are made and books are written, competitions are held and cartoons and comics are drawn … And, of course, he is taught.

Surfing in Muine is possible al year round. We have different spots for different level surfers, with small and slow waves for beginners, midsize waves for all the rest, and even super fast tubes for the pro.