Well, ok, in my case it's really Hang 6. But either way, the weekend's here and I'm heading out to try my hand (flipper) at surfing. After nearly two weeks of rain, the sky has cleared and the summer sun is shining high in the sky. A few of my buddies and I, have decided to hit the beach and catch a few waves. Surfing has always intriqued me and, as a water-loving amphibian, it seems only natural that I should give it a try.
As I was reading up on surfing and what I needed to learn, I found quite a few interesting facts about surfing that I certainly didn't know. Did you know that the first account of surfing was written by Captain James Cook, in 1778, after he witnessed it in Hawaii? Cook wrote: “I could not help concluding this man had the most supreme pleasure while he was driven so fast and so smoothly by the sea.” And the first official surfing contest took place in California back in 1928. I was surprised to learn that since 1999, Plymouth University in the UK offers a degree course in Surf Science and Technology. I probably don't have to worry about breaking the record for the longest surf, which stands at 3 hours, 55 minutes. It's held by a Panamanian surfer named Gary Saavedra and has been on the record book since 2011. That's toad-ally awesome, Dude!
The biggest wave ever recorded was 500 feet TALLER than the Empire State Building in NYC; 1738 feet or 530 meters. The record for the most people to stand on one surfboard is 47...must have been a bit crowded, don't you think? And did you know that you can surf on rivers? To be fair, certain rivers and only at certain times, but it is possible. And dogs have their own surfing competition. Perhaps, I'll start a new trend and frogs will be next! And, as a side note, the term channel-surfing has been around since 1986.
Surfing is a great sport and a wonderful way to spend the weekend. I like to try everything, at least once. But, after this weekend, I will probably go back to being a hodad...a person (or frog) who hangs around the beach, just retending to be a surfer.
Whatever your weekend plans include, I hope you'll get the opportunity to spend some time near the water. Stay safe and I'll see you back here on Monday.
Surf's Up
As I was reading up on surfing and what I needed to learn, I found quite a few interesting facts about surfing that I certainly didn't know. Did you know that the first account of surfing was written by Captain James Cook, in 1778, after he witnessed it in Hawaii? Cook wrote: “I could not help concluding this man had the most supreme pleasure while he was driven so fast and so smoothly by the sea.” And the first official surfing contest took place in California back in 1928. I was surprised to learn that since 1999, Plymouth University in the UK offers a degree course in Surf Science and Technology. I probably don't have to worry about breaking the record for the longest surf, which stands at 3 hours, 55 minutes. It's held by a Panamanian surfer named Gary Saavedra and has been on the record book since 2011. That's toad-ally awesome, Dude!
The biggest wave ever recorded was 500 feet TALLER than the Empire State Building in NYC; 1738 feet or 530 meters. The record for the most people to stand on one surfboard is 47...must have been a bit crowded, don't you think? And did you know that you can surf on rivers? To be fair, certain rivers and only at certain times, but it is possible. And dogs have their own surfing competition. Perhaps, I'll start a new trend and frogs will be next! And, as a side note, the term channel-surfing has been around since 1986.
Surfing is a great sport and a wonderful way to spend the weekend. I like to try everything, at least once. But, after this weekend, I will probably go back to being a hodad...a person (or frog) who hangs around the beach, just retending to be a surfer.
Whatever your weekend plans include, I hope you'll get the opportunity to spend some time near the water. Stay safe and I'll see you back here on Monday.
Surf's Up
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