Surfer of Change

I COULD NOT HELP CONCLUDING THIS MAN HAD THE MOST SUPREME PLEASURE

WHILE HE WAS DRIVEN SO FAST AND SO SMOOTHLY BY THE SEA.

-CAPTAIN JAMES COOK

Legend Pele, Hawaiian goddess of ﬁre, learns to surf and teaches her sister Hi’iaka

Europeans reached the present state of Baja California and exploredthe peninsula’s west coast

During his ﬁrst voyage of discovery Captain James Cook sailed to Tahiti and saw the locals out surﬁng

In Hawaii Kamehameha the Great overturns the legendary Naha Stone

Captain James Cook arrived back in Tahiti in 1777 on his ship Resolution

Botanist Joseph Banks, documents wave riding in his diaries - it’s the earliest known written description of surﬁng

Captain James Cook’s ﬂeet spot O’ahu, the ﬁrst of several Hawaiian Islands that would be discovered

Captain Cook observes Hawaiians wave riding on hard wooden boards

Captain Cook, and four of his crew, were clubbed to death by a group of local Hawaiians

When the journals of Captain Cook were published in 1784 they were popular in Europe and the UK

King Kamehameha consolidates the Hawaiian Island’s warring, feudal-like chiefdoms into a single monarchy

Surﬁng Queen Ka’ahumanu breaks kapu system ending surﬁng’s ritual importance

Hiram Bingham leads ﬁrst Calvinist missionaries to Sandwich Islands

One of the most proliﬁc ‘surf’ writers in the early 1800s was the Reverend William Ellis in Hawaii

Captain James Alexander sees West African natives riding waves

Mark Twain describes his Waikiki surﬁng adventure for Ladies Home Journal

Three royal Hawaiian brothers introduce “surfboard swimming” to Santa Cruz, CA

Duke Paoa Kahanamoku, the father of modern surﬁng is born in Honolulu

Two Hawaiian princes - and their English guardian- went surﬁng in Britain. The earliest record of UK surﬁng

Bodysurﬁng gains popularity with schoolboys at Manly Beach, Sydney

Surﬁng princess Ka’iulani rides her alaia in the ocean at Brighton, England

PRE 1910

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1784

1810

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1821

1831

1835

1866

1885

1890

OUT OF WATER, I AM NOTHING

-DUKE KAHANAMOKU

Tom Blake was born. Blake would become one of the most influential surfers of the twentieth-century

Hawaii’s George Freeth reintroduces the “angled” ride across the wave face

Visiting Waikiki American writer Jack London describes his surfing experience

Honolulu Star labels George Freeth. “The most expert surfboard rider in the world”

1902

1905

1907

1900

THERE ARE A MILLION WAYS TO SURF, AND AS LONG

AS YOU’RE SMILING YOU’RE DOING IT RIGHT.

-UNKNOWN

Duke Kahanamoku breaks world swim records at the Olympic Games in Stockholm

Duke Kahanamoku introduces surfing to New York and New Jersey

Surfing is introduced to Virginia Beach by James Jordan

In Redondo Beach. George Freeth is photographed doing a “spinner”

Duke Kahanamoku popularizes surfing in New Zealand and Australia

Teen Isabel Letham of Sydney tandems with Duke to become Oz’s first female surfer

In Waikiki, Duke Kahanamoku rides a 10’ 7” alai on a giant wave for over a half-mile

George Freeth, 35, dies in San Diego, during the worldwide influenza pandemic

1912

1914

1917

1919

1910

IF IN DOUBT, PADDLE OUT.

-NAT YOUNG

King Edward VIII, then the Prince of Wales, joined Duke Khanamoku on an outrigger canoe ride at Waikiki

Wisconsinite Tom Blake meets Olympian Duke Kahanamoku in a Detroit movie theater

A Galveston hurricane forces 7-year-old Pete Peterson to move to California with his family

Albert “Rabbit” Kekai was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was a master of the sport in the 1930s, ’40s, and ’50s

Tom Blake first surfs in Santa Monica, CA

At 9 years old, Pete Peterson is one of the first dozen surfboard riders on the Pacific Coast

English mystery writer Agatha Christie is introduced to prone surfboard riding during a stop in Durban, South Africa

Tony Bowman, a WWI pilot, returned from England to South Africa. He became one of SA’s first full-time surfers

Agatha and her husband quickly took to riding surfboards standing up at Waikiki later in the year

Back from his tour of Polynesia, Prince Edward (later King Edward VIII) was an enthusiastic fan of surfing

Tom Blake visits Hawaii for the first time and surfs Waikiki with the Kahanamokus

Duke Kahanamoku rescues eight people from capsized boat off Newport Beach, CA

Joe Quigg was born (1925) in Los Angeles, and began surfing at age four, riding on a small billboard

Six-year-old Wally Froiseth and his family move to Oahu. Later, he begins surfing at Waikiki on a redwood surfboard

Tom Blake and Sam Reid become the first surfers to ride Malibu

Former British Prime Minister William Gladstone goes surfing with friends on a beach in North Devon

Peter Burness, The “Father of South African Surfing,” is born

Charles “Snow” McAlister headstands his way to the Australian surfing title

1920

1921

1922

1923

1924

1925

1927

1928

1920

JUST TAKE YOUR TIME - WAVE COMES. LET THE

OTHER GUYS GO, CATCH ANOTHER ONE.

-DUKE KAHANAMOKU

California’s Gard Chapin invents the drop knee turn

Bill and Dudley Whitman bring surfing to Florida after learning to surf in Hawaii

“Coast haole” Pete Peterson and Whitey Harrison travel to Hawaii for the first time

Lifeguard LeRoy Columbo rides the small, mud-brown waves of Galveston, Texas

Woody Brown moves from NYC to La Jolla, then visits Hawaii in fro the Hot Curl revolution

John “Doc” Ball, a surfing dentist, founds the Palos Verdes Surf Club

Parkway, used for canning food, is first used for traction on surfboards

Woody Brown is first to ride Windansea, San Diego, CA

Huntington Beach long time standout surfer Chuck Lennon born

John Kelly and Wally Froiseth are the first modern surfers to ride Makaha

Waikiki surfers begin to venture out to the North Shore of Oahu to ride bigger waves

Gates Foss becomes the first to surf the point at Rincon near Santa Barbara

Mary Ann Hawkins wins the Pacific Coast Women’s Surfboard Championships (’38-’40)

Despite a crippled arm, 20-year-old Bob Simmons rides a surfboard in Newport Beach

1930

1932

1935

1936

1937

1938

1939

1930

WAVES ARE NOT MEASURED IN FEET AND INCHES.

THEY ARE MEASURED IN INCREMENTS OF FEAR.

-BUZZY TRENT

Gene “Tarzan” Smith paddles 90 miles from Oahu to Kauai; a 30-hour journey

Cliff Tucker wins the Pacific Coast Surf Riding Championship

Dick Brewer buys his first custom board - a 9’ x 90” balsa that weighed 26 pounds

Dickie Cross, a teenage surfer from Honolulu, dies in huge surf at Waimea Bay

16-year-old Dale Velzy enlists in the Merchant Marines and sees the world - including Hawaii

The lead role of Fred Crocker in design of wave riding craft helped establish a community of surfers in Durban

Albert “Rabbit” Kekai of Honolulu is the fastest trick surfer alive

“Teenager Matt Kivlin regarded as the hottest surfer in California

Nick Gabaldon of Santa Monica becomes the first African-American surfer

1940

1941

1943

1945

1948

1949

1940

IT’S NOT TRAGIC TO DIE DOING SOMETHING YOU LOVE.

-ON BIG WAVE SURFING, MARK FOO

Malibu newcomer Vicki Flaxman becomes the hottest female surfer on the coast

21-year-old George Downing is regarded as Hawaii’s best big-wave rider

An AP photo of surfers at Makaha set off a Hawaii-bound migration of Mainlanders

George Downing wins the Makaha International contest

Bob Simmons drowns while surfing Windansea, La Jolla

Ethel Kukea is the first woman to win the Makaha International

Shaun Tomson was born on 8/21/1955 in South Africa. Shaun would go on to win the world title in 1977

At Malibu, lightning-fast Dewey Weber becomes the first famous “hot-dogger”

An American lifeguard team introduces Australia to the “Malibu style” of riding

Conrad Canha wins the Makaha International

Kathy Kohner, the real Gidget, learns to surf at Malibu

Greg Noll, Mike Stang, Pat Curren, Micky Munoz et. al. Surf Waimea Bay for the first time

The charismatic Mickey Dora becomes the most-imitated surfer at Malibu

Hawaiian Paul Strauch is credited with the “Strauch Crouch Cheater Five”

Buzzy Trent and George Downing ride perfect 25-foot waves at Makaha

Linda Benson, 15, wins Makaha International

John Whitmore spots waves breaking at Jeffereys Bay, South Africa

1950

1951

1953

1954

1955

1956

1957

1958

1959

1950

I TOOK OFF ON A WAVE, WENT DOWN THE SIDE, POPPED OUT

THE OTHER END, AND WENT, SHIT, I’M STILL ALIVE!

-GREG NOLL

George Downing wins the Makaha International contest

Surfer magazine publisher John Severson wins the prestigious Peruvian International Surfing Championships

Hoppy Swarts named the first president of United States Surfing Association (USSA)

Phil Edwards rides a new North Shore spot as Bruce Brown films. Diffenderfer calls it “Pipeline”

Midget Farrelly wins his first Makaha International Surfing Championships

California’s Phil Edwards wins Surfer magazine’s debut Surfer Poll Award

Butch Van Artsdalen of La Jolla becomes the original “Mister Pipeline”

Dewey Weber, wearing only a T-shirt and blue jeans, walks into a Porsche dealer and pays cash, for the coupe

At Manly Beach, Australia’s Midget Farrelly wins the first World Surfing Championships

Felipe Pomar of Peru beats Nat Young to win the World Championships, held in Lima

David Nuuhiwa named by Surfer Magazine as the world’s best nose rider

California’s Joyce Hoffman wins the first of her two world championships

Corky Carroll wins the United States Surfing Championships

Nat Young uses high-performance “Total Involvement” surfing to win the World Title

Simon Anderson gets his first surfboard, after his dad wins Lottery and moves family to the beach

Australian John Witzig trumpets “We’re Tops Now” in Surfer Magazine and starts a rivalry

Miki Dora moons the judges while riding a wave at the Malibu International

The Australian National Titles are won by Keith Paul and Judy Trim. Wayne Lynch wins the Junior’s Title

Duke Kahanamoku passes away at age 77. He is returned to the sea in a huge Waikiki beach boy-style funeral

Margo Oberg and Fred Hemmings win the World Championships, held in Puerto Rico

Greg Noll is the last man standing on a giant day at Makaha, and wipes out on a 30-foot wave

Jock Sutherland announces he’s joining the US Army and leaves the Mr. Pipeline title up for grabs

1961

1962

1963

1964

1965

1966

1967

1968

1969

1960

YOUR SURFING CAN GET BETTER ON EVERY TURN, ON EVERY WAVE YOU CATCH. LEARN TO READ THE OCEAN BETTER. A BIG PART OF MY SUCCESS HAS BEEN WAVE KNOWLEDGE.

-KELLY SLATER

In Australia, Rolf Aurness and Sharron Weber win the World Surfing titles

The inaugural Pipeline Masters contest is held in Hawaii; Jeff Hakman wins

Mike Tabeling becomes the first East Coaster to make the cover of Surfer magazine

Michael Peterson wins Australian National Titles

Future surf star Kelly Slater is born in Cocoa Beach, FLA. He will be crowned World Champion

Yancy Spencer, the “godfather of Gulf Coast surfing,” wins the East Coast Pro

The Australian point break, Kirra, turns on for six consecutive weeks at a flawless 5’ to 8’

Former WC Fred Hemmings establishes the Smirnoff in Hawaii as the defacto World Surfing Championships

Hawaii’s Larry Bertelsmann is the most radical small-wave surfer, Gerry Lopez rules Pipe

Florida’s Jeff Crawford wins Pipeline Masters. NY’s Ricky rasmussen wins U.S. Title

La Jolla surfer Chris O’ Rourke is the top-ranked contest surfer in California at 16 years of age

Shaun Tomson’s “backside attack” defeats Rory Russell and Gerry Lopez at the Pipe Masters

Jericho Poppler and Mary Setterholm found Women’s International Surfing Association

Jeff Clark, 17, becomes the first to surf Mavericks near Half Moon Bay, CA

Herbie Fletcher jumps on a longboard and declares “the thrill is back!”

Surfing backside in difficult conditions, Shaun Tomson wins the Pipeline Masters - a performance breakthrough

Peter Townend. Becomes the first professional world surfing champion

Eddie Aikau wins the Duke Kahanamoku Classic, at Sunset Beach

Rell Sunn founds the Menehune surf contest at Makaha Beach

Margo Oberg becomes the first women’s professional world surfing champion

Hawaiian big-wave legend Eddie Aikau is lost at sea trying to save the crew of a Polynesian canoe

Mark Richards wins the first of four consecutive IPS/ASP World Tour Championships

Peru’s National tam is defeated at Punta rica, in by NSSA National tam in 12 sets coach by John Rothrock and Tom Gibbons

1970

1971

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1977

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1979

I THINK WHEN A SURFER BECOMES A SURFER, IT’S ALMOST LIKE AN

OBLIGATION TO BE AN ENVIRONMENTALIST AT THE SAME TIME.

-KELLY SLATER

Mark Richards buys a silver Porsche—the flashiest thing yet to hit pro surfing. (Remember Dewey Weber in 1964?)

At the Katin Pro-Am, 16-year-old Tom Curren finishes second to Shaun Tomson

Ketut Menda is the first Indonesian surfer to compete on the pro tour

Cheyne Horan wins the inaugural OP Pro in Huntington Beach, California

Debbie Beacham wins the Women’s Professional World Championship

Ken Bradshaw wins the Duke Kahanamoku Classic in Hawaii

Hawaiian Triple Crown championship series introduced by Randy Garrick and won by Michael Ho

Alec “Ace Cool” Cooke announces his sponsored bid to ride the world’s largest wave at Kaena Point on Oahu

California’s Davey Smith fractures an ankle while perfecting “surfing’s new move” the aerial

Australian Tom Carroll wins two consecutive World Surfing Championships

Frieda Zamba wins her first of four women’s Professional World Titles

Shaun Tomson, 29, wins the Stubbies at Oceanside in California to take the ASP World Tour points lead

Lisa Andersen runs away from her home in Florida to California to become a female pro surfer

Clyde Aikau wins the first Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau big wave contest at Waimea Bay

Lisa Andersen wins the world pro tour’s Rookie-of-the-Year Award

Wayne Bartholomew elected to the Australian Surfing Hall of Fame

Wearing a helmet, Tom Carroll wins Pipe 24 hours after learning of his sister’s death in a car crash

Darrick Doerner rides a 30 foot wave at Waimea Bay on Super Bowl Sunday

Matt Archbold earns reputation as one of the best aerialists

Hoppy Swarts, surfing pioneer dies

Mike Boyum discovers “Cloud 9”, a perfect right barrel in the Philippines

Australian surf pioneer Snowy McAllister dies

Aerial surfing begins to take off led by Martin Potter and Christian Fletcher

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

MY PASSION FOR SURFING WAS MORE THAN MY FEAR OF SHARKS.

-BETHANY HAMILTON

Keone Downing wins the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau big-wave contest at Waimea Bay

Pam Burridge wins the ASP (now WSL) women’s world championships

Tom Curren wins 7 of 21 events to win his third ASP World Title, then retires

Australian Damien Hardman wins ASP World Title

Sunny Garcia wins his first of five prestigious Hawaiian Triple Crown Titles (1992-2004)

Kelly Slater wins his first of 11 (and counting) ASP (now WSL) World Surfing Championships

Laird Hamilton, Buzzy Kerbox, and Darrick Doerner experiment with boats to catch giant waves

Derek Ho, USA and ASP world champion in action in the quarterfinals

Surfing legend Dewey Weber dies of heart failure

Pauline Menczer wins the ASP Women’s World Surfing Championship

Five weeks after giving birth, Lisa Andersen wins 3 of 11 events and her first World Title

Hawaiian big-wave surfer Mark Foo drowns at Mavericks in central California on December 23

Sunny Garcia of Hawaii wins his third Triple Crown title in three years

Kelly Slater comes from third in the ratings to win the Pipe Masters and the ASP World Title

Lisa Andersen designs a functional but fashionable women’s board short for Roxy

Todd Chesser drowns after getting caught inside at Outside Alligators on the North Shore

Layne Beachley wins the first of her seven World Titles (’98, ’99, ’00, ’01, ’02, ’03 and ’06)

Rochelle Ballard co-founds International Women Surfers (IWS)

After losing 80 pounds, Mark ‘Occy’ Occhiluppo wins ASP World Surfing Title

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1998

1999

SURFING IS AN ATTITUDE. IT'S THAT DESIRE TO RIDE A WAVE AND THE FREEDOM IT GIVES YOU. IT'S ABOUT THAT DANCE WITH THE OCEAN AND EVERYTHING THAT COMES WITH IT.

-GERRY LOPEZ

Hawaii’s Sunny Garcia wins the ASP men’s World Surfing Championship

Laird Hamilton tows into the “Millennium Wave” at Teahupoo, and starts a mega-wave rush

Ross Clarke-Jones wins Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau big-wave contest at Waimea Bay

Mick Fanning wins the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach, Australia as a wild card entry

Former ISA world champ, Janice Aragon is inducted into the Huntington Beach Surfing Walk of Fame

Brad Gerlach is one of the first surfers to ride Cortes Bank, big wave surf spot 100 miles off the coast of San Diego

Taj Burrow becomes one of Australia’s top paid athletes known for his lightning fast style

Megan Abubo poses nude for Rolling Stone’s Sports Hall of Fame then stunt-doubles for Blue Crush (97)

C.J. Hobgood wins a World Title riding a Rusty - who sells 14,000 surfboards that year and has $40 million in sales

Brazilian Carlos Burle rides a gigantic, 68-foot wave at Maverick’s

Miki Dora dies of pancreatic cancer at 66. Obituaries appear as far as Detroit and Hartford CT

Wayne Deane is inducted into the Australian Surfing Hall of Fame

Shark attack victim Beth Hamilton successfully rides 30 foot plus Jaws on Maui

Garret McNamara rides waves from a calving glacier on Alaska’s Copper River

2000

2001

2002

2003

2007

2000

WIPING OUT IS AN UNDER APPRECIATED SKILL.

-LAIRD HAMILTON

Pioneer surfer and legendary surf photographer, Leroy Grannis, passes away in his home in Hermosa Beach, CA

Sion Milosky, an accomplished big-wave surfer, died at Mavericks after enduring a two-wave hold down

Garrett McNamara rides a 90=foot wave, shattering the previous record of ’77, of the coast of Nazaré, Portugal

Kelly Slater, 40, at The Fiji Pro at Cloudbreak, got 2 of the 5 perfect 10s in the event and 2 of the top 5 heat scores

Hobie Alter celebrates his 80th birthday on Halloween with a big party at the Surfing Heritage and Cultural Center

East Coast legend, Cecil Lear, given lifetime achievement award for his founding work with the ESA

2010

2011

2012

2013

2015

SURFERS OF CHANGE