Surfing is the act of someone paddling out into the ocean, catching a wave on a surfboard, standing up, and riding the length of that giant whitecap. Some people say it is the best feeling anyone can experience and always has been. The recreation of surfing has been around ever since the mid-eighteenth century. Now, it is not only a hobby for some people, but an extreme professional sport.
Originating in Hawaii during the mid-eighteen hundreds, surfing has remained a way of life for most Hawaiians. Everyone from men to women, royalty to commoners, took part in the pastime. Early surfboards were made of solid wood, eight to ten feet long, two feet wide, three inches thick, and around 100 pounds. (Encyclopedia Britannica: Surfing History). Early boards had no fins on the back underside of the board, making it very difficult to steer the plank. Most people just turned their board toward the shore and made no attempt to maneuver along the length of the wave wall. It wasn’t all fun and games for the people of Hawaii though.
According to The Geographic Adventures of Captain Cook, Captain James Cook, a British explorer, on his third expedition to find a northwest passage through Europe and Asia across the top of North America, mistakenly came across the Sandwich Islands, or Hawaii, in 1778. He remained there until he was killed by natives in 1779, when he attempted to kidnap the Hawaiian chief so as to force the people to return a boat that was stolen. During his time on the islands though, he watched the people surfing and wrote in one of his many exploration journals about a man he observed. In the passage he wrote, “I could not help concluding this man had the most supreme pleasure while he was driven so fast and so smoothly by...
... middle of paper ...
...cyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2011. Web. 11 Nov. 2011.
.
"surfing." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2011. Web. 11 Nov. 2011.
.
"surfing." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2011. Web. 11 Nov. 2011.
.
"surfing." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2011. Web. 11 Nov. 2011.
.
"surfing." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2011. Web. 11 Nov. 2011.
.
In 1802 Jefferson had started to strategize an expedition to explore out west all the way out to the Pacific. President Jefferson commenced preparations for this expedition in the same year after inspiration from the writings of Canadian explorer Sir Alexander Mackenzie. These writings were called the Voyages from Montreal. After reading these fascinating excerpts, Jefferson knew he wanted an American expedition out west. Jefferson’s expedition was also impacted by the journeys of Captain George Vancouver and James Cook in tha...
Supporters of the Age of Exploration believe James Cook was an example of a great explorer and a navigator. In his text/lecture “Cook’s Third Voyage”, Encyclopedia argues that in Hawaii he fought with the Hawaiians during his third voyage in 1779 and died leaving a legacy. Cook mapped lands from New Zealand to Hawaii, the great Barrier Reef of Australia, and the Pacific Ocean. He had a superior surveying and cartographic skills, physical courage and an ability to lead men in many different conditions. Based upon this research, it is clear that James Cook is significant because he’s a great seaman. This evidence supports
During the 1950’s when skateboarding first got it’s legs it was a very popular activity to take part in during vacations to ocean side tourist attractions, or as an activity after surfing. Yet, by 1965, skateboarding had diminished in popularity completely, therefore almost every skateboard manufacturer went out of business. . During this time the only people who even wanted to skateboard were surfers who needed something to ride to practice their surfing while the waves were flat. Due to the fact that there were no skateboards being made or sold, those who wanted to skate had to take it upon them-selves to manufacture their own boards. Using any kind of scrap they could find to build a usable board out of, such as metal scrap pieces or old planks. These determined surfers had to unscrew the trucks and wheels off of roller skates and attach them to the bottom of their boards. And because these kids were from very poor families for the most part, and next to non had jobs of their own, they had to resort to taking the trucks and wheels off the roller skates secretly in the stores. Although.., the clay wheels th...
Throughout time, the progression and evolution of snowboarding has increased greatly. It has gone from non existence in the late 1970’s, to one of the most watched action sports in a matter of thirty-five years. The upward takeoff and popularity of snowboarding relies on two people, Jake Burton and Shaun White. Jake Burton back in 1977 had the vision for what snowboarding would be, but Shaun White had what it took to manifest that vision. Evidence has shown that time brings change in sports, history has repeated itself with snowboarding, this history reflects the time & changes that has occurred in America.
Francisco Pizarro served on an expedition, which he discovered the Pacific Ocean. Henry Hudson was an English Explorer born in 1565, he is known as one of the most famous explorers.
Captain Meriwether Lewis and Lieutenant William Clark, also known as Lewis and Clark, they led one of the most famous expeditions in American history. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson, the Corps of Discovery Expedition was one of the earliest exploratory missions across America to the Pacific Coast. Though its primary purpose was to find a direct water route to the Pacific Ocean, President Jefferson also wanted the journey to focus on the economic usefulness of different regions, particularly in terms of plant and animal life. On May 14, 1804, along with 31 other men, Lewis and Clark set out to do exactly that. It was a long, treacherous trip by water and on foot across a expansive unknown wilderness. Keeping the expedition members healthy and well-fed was obviously a pressing concern. This epic mission had a wild, strange and often surprising menu. Their favorite foods were always elk, beaver tail, and buffalo, and when they were struggling up the Missouri the men ate prodigious amounts of it, up to nine pounds of meat per man per day. But dogs would do if dogs were all that they could get. Only Clark formerly declined. He couldn't bring himself to eat dog meat. They also had to cut down trees to make boats after going over miles of land while being forced to leave their original boats. What they did was burn the insides of
Britton, Veronica. "The Origins of Surfing." The Sport of Kings. N.p.. Web. 6 Dec 2013.
On a June evening in 1770, British explorer, Captain James Cook heard the irritable screeching of wood against stone. Little did he know, he had just discovered the Great Barrier Reef! Off the coast of Queensland, Australia in the Coral Sea, the GBR is the world's largest reef system, it can even be seen from space! It is approximately 35 million hectares, which equals about 70 million football fields. The GBR hosts an extremely diverse array of marine life from mollusks to fish to sea and shore birds. Attracting about 2 million people per year, the GBR generates AU$4-5 billion annually. A coral reef forms underwater when thousands of tiny animals, called polyps, establish a colony. How did this series of reefs become the Great Barrier Reef?
Colonial settlers John Smith and William Bradford were two of many Englishmen that partook in an expedition across the Atlantic Ocean in hopes of starting life anew in the New World. They lived and died around similar time frames and are both known for their success in maritime travel. Although the premise of their journeys are similar, it is evident through their respective narrative accounts that the two vastly differ in their motivations, perspectives, and literary structure.
Those who do typically like to get the most out of their money and take advantage of all the opportunities on the islands. Surfing is popular lifestyle that society pairs with Hawaii. The near-shore waters that range from deep blue to turquoise are often tempting; however, many vacationers do not understand how dangerous Hawaii’s currents can be. Since Hawaii is located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the ocean bottom tends to drop off quickly, which causes big and powerful waves. Annually, sixty people drown or are seriously injured by the rip currents of the treacherous waters. Earlier this year, famous singer Britney Spears vacationed on the famous beaches of Hawaii. In a recent interview, so revealed she almost drowned at sea. “I went out and I thought it was like a wave pool, and I thought, ‘This is so nice and refreshing,’ but the thing I didn’t think about is when you come back the waves really come in strong.” Spears got sucked in and kept getting pulled back to sea. She was under for about five minutes before one of her security guards noticed she was struggling and was able to rescue her (Bacardi). A majority of the beaches fly a red warning flag year-round to warn beachgoers of the hazards. If one does find himself trapped in the middle of a current, it’s important to remain calm. Do not try to swim against the tide. Instead, swim parallel to the beach until the current
Biased Writings about the Pacific Islanders During the seventeenth to the eighteenth century, many famous European travelers went around the globe and wrote about their experiences, which educated the Europeans who were not able to go out to the outside world and also left valuable study materials for historians to learn about the past. George Forster, Adelbert von Chamisso, and Charles Darwin were three of the most famous European travelers at the time; each of them wrote a great piece of travel writing, which were “A Voyage Round the World,” “A Voyage Around the World”, and “Voyage of the Beagle.” All three of them wrote about the Pacific Islanders in their paper, but the imagery they portrayed were ambiguous. Due to Forster, Chamisso, and Charles’ differences in writing styles and
person who is learning to surf or does not surf all together. It gets me so stoked to
There is a guy from Hawaii that I know. Every day, he wakes up, straps his surfboards to the racks on top of his car, drives his car from a town called Ewa, across the island of Oahu, to a little beach known as Ala Moana Beach Park. He does all of this even before the sun comes up. He spends a few minutes just looking at the ocean, watching and surveying the waves and how they break. As soon as the sun makes its first peek over the horizon, he grabs a board, waxes it up, and jumps in the water. He then paddles his board through what many people call a journey: two hundred yards of dark cold water, blistering currents, and waves pushing back against each stroke made to push forward. He makes this journey to get to a point right past where all the waves break, to a point called the line-up. It’s here, where he waits for a wave that he catches back towards the shore, only to make the journey back through all the cold harsh currents and waves again. He catches a few waves, and then catches one all the way back to shore, where he showers, gets dressed and then goes off to work.
She had enough courage to stand back up on the board. Bethany tried and tried to get up on the board with her one arm. But then she got it!! Bethany was standing on that board ready to hit the water. A year later Bethany won an award from National Championship. And became the best woman surfer.
(Obeyesekere, 1992:3) Let us assume for a moment (from the perspective of Obeyesekere) that the Hawaiians considered, the prospect that indeed Cook was the God Lono, This would cause us to perhaps take up his argument, on the obvious incongruities between that of their cultural expectations for ‘Lono’s’ arrival - as well as the arrival of James Cook (and crew) that would mitigate a restless commitment to the identification of Cook as