The
History of Surfing
by Skip Snead
1777
*Captain James Cook observes canoe and body surfing
near Tahiti's Matavai Point in the Society Islands. Written into his
ship's log it becomes the first known documentation of the sport of
surfing.
1778
*Captain James Cook observes stand up surfing in the
Sandwich Islands (Hawaii).
1779
*Captain James Cook arrives at Kealakekua, on the Kona
Coast of the Big Island of Hawaii and sees more surfing. Unfortunately,
a short while later Captain James Cook is brutally murdered in the
shallows of Kealakekua Bay by a mob of angry Hawaiians.
1788
*King Kamehameha and his princess wife Kaahumanu are
the most celebrated couple in surfing, often riding the waves together
at Kooka, a nice wave located at Pua'a in North Kona on what is now
known as the Big Island of Hawaii.
