For centuries the ancient Hawaiians sat on a secret that would influence the world and change the way we view and utilize our coastlines. That secret was surfing. It wasn't until Captain James Cook came to the Islands in the late 1700s that word started to get out.

From the Journal of Lieutenant James King after the death of Captain James Cook:

“The surf, which breaks on the coast round the bay, extends to the distance of about one hundred fifty yards from the shore, within which space, the surges of the sea, accumulating from the shallowness of the water, are dashed against the beach with prodigious violence. Whenever, from stormy weather, or any extraordinary swell at sea, the impetuosity of the surf is increased to its utmost heights, they choose that time for this amusement: twenty or thirty of the natives, taking each a long narrow board, rounded at the ends, set out together from the shore. The first wave they meet, they plunge under, and suffering it to roll over them, rise again beyond it, and make the best of their way, by swimming, out into the sea. The second wave is encountered in the same manner with the first; the great difficulty consisting in seizing the proper moment of diving under it, which, if missed, the person is caught by the surf, and driven back again with great violence; and all his dexterity is then required to prevent himself from being dashed against the rocks. As soon as they have gained, by these repeated efforts, the smooth water beyond the surf, they lay themselves at length on their board, and prepare for their return. As the surf consists of a number of waves, of which every third is remarked to be always much larger than the others, and to flow higher on the shore, the rest breaking in the intermediate space, their first object is to place themselves on the summit of the largest surge, by which they are driven along with amazing rapidity toward the shore. If by mistake they should place themselves on one of the smaller waves, which breaks before they reach the land, or should not be able to keep their plank in a proper direction on the top of the swell, they are left exposed to the fury of the next, and, to avoid it, are obliged again to dive, and regain the place from which they set out. Those who succeed in their object of reaching the shore, have still the greatest danger to encounter. The coast being guarded by a chain of rocks, with, here and there, a small opening between them, they are obliged to steer their board through one of these, or, in case of failure, to quit it, before they reach the rocks, and, plunging under the wave, make the best of their way back again. This is reckoned very disgraceful, and is also attended with the loss of the board, which I have often seen, with great terror, dashed to pieces, at the very moment the islander quitted it. The boldness and address, with which we saw them perform these difficult and dangerous manoeuvres, was altogether astonishing, and is scarcely to be credited.”

These were some of the first words ever penned about the Hawaiian sport of kings that they referred to as he'e nalu (wave sliding). The Hawaiians, however, left evidence of the fact that they had done this for centuries in the form of petroglyphs in lava rock and ritual chants that date back to the 1500s.
Surfing was more than just recreation for the early Hawaiians. As an integral part of the Kapu governmental system that was in place in the islands, surfing distinguished societal classes and helped to maintain order. Even the size of the your board and the material it was made of were determined by social class. An Olo board was reserved for the Alii (ruling class) and these could range in size from 14 to 16 feet and were generally made with wood from the wiliwili tree. An Alaia board was generally used by commoners. These boards ranged from 10 to 12 feet and were made from a heavier, denser wood called koa. Great care was displayed both in creating these boards and caring for them and because of this surfboards have become an integral part of Hawaiian culture.

The mid 1800s was a difficult time for surfing in Hawaii. Missionaries from the U.S. mainland began to arrive and didn't take to kindly to the naked Hawaiians, both men and women, freely enjoying the sport of their ancestors. They preached adamantly that surfing was hedonistic and by the late 1800s surfing was nearly wiped out.
By 1905 the missionaries’ influence over the islands was dwindling and the time was right for the rebirth of surfing in Hawaii. Duke Kahanamoku, then a teenager, and his friends who came to be known as the “Beach Boys of Waikiki” are credited with the sports reintroduction. Duke went on to win Olympic medals in swimming and spread the sport of surfing around the world.

Detailed descriptions of HAWAII surf spots coming soon