What is surfing?
Surfing is a surface water sport in which the person who wants to surf uses a surfboard to travel along a breaking ocean wave. Such waves are called “surfing,” and hence the activity is called “surfing.”
Surfing’s beginnings
Surfing originated in ancient Polynesia, where the chief was the most skilled rider and the ruling classes had access to the best beaches. This activity was noticed by Europeans in Tahiti in 1767 and has now become one of the most popular forms of adventure sports on beaches around the world.
Types of surfing
There are three main types of stand-up surfing that are widely practiced. These are
Longboarding: This type of surfing is performed using a type of surfboard known as a longboard. The longboard is primarily a single-fin surfboard with a large round nose and a length of 2.7 to 3.7 m.
Shortboarding: A new type of surfboard has become widespread since the 1960s. These planks are between five and seven feet long, with a pointed nose and a round or square tail, usually with three skegs (fins), but sometimes with two or even five.
o Tow surfing: The ancient Polynesians could not have imagined this unique form of surfing.In this type of surfing, the surfer is dragged into a breaking wave by a partner piloting a boat or helicopter with an attached towline. This is usually done when the wave is too big or too fast.
Some other sports that are variations of surfing include pedal boating, sea kayaking, kite surfing, and windsurfing.
Andy Griffiths, a surf enthusiast (or as his friends call him, a surfing “crazy”), has travelled the world in search of the best places to surf. His travels have taken him to almost all the surfing destinations around the world, and his articles about them are both informative and interesting.