Note: the images above are derived from Honolulu’s Bishop Museum archives.
Although “western” knowledge of surfing dates from the sea voyages of Captain Cook in the 1770s, Polynesian artifacts and legends record the sport’s occurrence as early as the 1500s and they imply a much earlier beginning. If you wish to learn more, please visit the websites shown below. They are all excellent brief resources.
History of Surfing
- From Polynesia with Love
The History of Surfing From Captain Cook to the Present
By Ben Marcus - The Sport of Kings
University of Florida, Interactive Media Lab
Project site by Veronica Britton - The History of Surfing
By Les Drent
Evolution of the Surf Bboard
They started off in Polynesia and weighed up to 200 pounds. Learn how and why they’ve changed.
- The Evolution of the Surfboard
By Sonnen Sloan - The Evolution of the Short Board
By Bruce “Snake” Gabrielson - WoodSurfboards.com
Surf History Preservation Collection
399 E. Kawili St. #201
Hilo, Hawaii 96720
Surfing Today
If you’re planning on heading to the beach, we’ve got you covered. We provide plenty of information on current surfing conditions.
- Surf Reports provides links to surf forecasts, surf reports, buoy reports, buoy forecasts, wave models, weather models and much more. Understand the dynamics of surf conditions with tutorials that provide learning opportunities for beginners to experts.
- Live Surf Cams provide current views of wave conditions at the beach.
Surfing in New Smyrna Beach
- New Smyrna Surfing Videos: Visit our videos page to see samples of the many New Smyrna area surfing videos posted on sites such as YouTube and Vimeo.
- Spotlight on New Smyrna Beach can be found in the footer of this and every page. It includes links to several recent articles about the area.