1927 Portuguese surfing film

[bgreen]

The conventional story is that surfing in Europe and elsewhere began with Americans bringing boards in th e1950s or exposure via films, books or magazines.

Yet again, the evidence suggests that prone surfing was alive and well much earlier: http://www.surfertoday.com/surfing/7917 ... of-surfing


More info is here: http://upmagazine-tap.com/en/pt_updaily ... -portugal/ which suggests a UK connection


Bob

[rodndtube]

The South African postcard was dated to 1908, in "Bodyboarding Muizenberg, South Africa, ca. 1908," at http://mypaipoboards.org/postcards/Paip ... frica_1908 . I have wondered for some time which nation may have been influencing the other, the UK or South Africa.

[Uncle Grumpy]

Ever heard of Magellan?
The Portagee maritime tradition is just as long and illustrious as that of the UK and certainly more so than SA.
They were the first Euro contacts in many places in both the Atlantic and Pacific and there is no reason to believe these sailors didn't see the same sort of waveriding in their travels as Cook, Bougainville, etc.
We are all aware of the very old Cornish wave riding tradition, why wouldn't the Portuguese like to get in on the fun as well?

[Poobah]

The Poruguese also grow their own cork.

[bgreen]

Interestingly to go back to Rod's comment about South Africa having earlier evidence of prone surfing, Magellan's route took him down the west coast of Africa & then with some stops across the mid-lower Pacifric.

Bob

[Poobah]

The sport does seem to flourish better in warm waters, and alongside the rise of swim clubs and volunteer lifeguards. Tourism hype is also an important factor. When it comes to influence, then I think we have to give the credit to British seamen that visited Tahiti and the Sandwich Islands. They were astonished by the wave riding they witnessed in the South Pacific. So we have to assume they hadn't seen it previously in South Africa or elsewhere.

Something more to ponder...when Captain Cook first left the Sandwich Islands, his next stop was the present day island of Vancouver. They stayed with these First Canadians for a couple of months. Surely surfing must have been discussed. Possibly a surfboard or two were traded for food. Personally I credit Captain Cook for bringing the first snowboard to Canada, but (sigh) it's another one of those things that's fallen into lost History.

[Poobah]

P.S. I understand that the Captain Cook collection is in Australian hands...in Sydney. Perhaps the answers are there, like a bellyboard blueprint mixed in with all of the drawings of flowers and plants.

[bgreen]

Try http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/c/cook/james/c77j/