6 Catch a Wave

CHAPTER 1 The Duke SOME PEOPLE LIKE TO RIDE HORSES OR DRIVE FAST CARS. AND OTHER PEOPLE LIKE TO RIDE WAVES. People started surfing a long time ago. In the 1400s, people in the group of islands we now call Hawaii surfed as a sport. But one person made surfing famous. His name was Duke Kahanamoku. Duke was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1890. When he was a boy, he loved swimming and surfing. He also liked sleeping. In 1912, at the Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden, he fell asleep before his race! Everyone had to wait while he put on his swimsuit. He swam very fast. He broke the world record. At the 1920 Olympics in Belgium, he broke the world record again. Duke was the most famous Hawaiian in the world. At that time, surfing was not popular outside of Hawaii. But Duke showed many people how to surf. In Australia, he made a surfboard out of a tree. Then he took a woman, Isabel Letham, on the surfboard with him. She was the first Australian surfer. Duke showed many people in the United States how to surf, too. People were more and more interested in this fun sport. Duke had an interesting life and was very popular. He won many swimming races. He was in movies in Hollywood. He started the first surf club in Oahu, Hawaii. And for more than 25 years, he was the sheriff of Honolulu. Today, he is called "the Father of Surfing."

CHAPTER 2 Hanging Ten SURFING IS FUN, BUT DIFFICULT. WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SURFING? Very good surfers can "hang ten." That is, they can surf with both their feet all ten toes at the front of the surfboard. This is not easy. Before you hang ten, you have to learn a lot. First, a new surfer has to choose the right surfboard. It should be long and thick because a long, thick surfboard floats very well. It helps you keep your balance on the waves. Next, you have to choose the right place. A good place for a new surfer is a flat, sandy beach. It's good if it isn't busy. You don't want to hit other surfers with your surfboard. And, you don't want their surfboards to hit you! What do you wear when you surf? You can wear a swimsuit, but in cold water, a wetsuit is best. A wetsuit keeps your body warm so you can be in the water for a long time. The first thing you must practice before you begin to surf is "popping up." You put your surfboard down on the sand. Next, you lie on it with your face down. Then you get up onto your feet very fast, or "pop up." You must practice this many times before you take your surfboard into the ocean.

You are almost ready to go into the ocean and ride those waves. OK, only very small ones! But there are two more things to do. First, you must wax the top of your surfboard. This is so your feet don't slip. Then, you must put the leash from your surfboard on your leg. You are going to fall, and you don't want to lose your surfboard. Now you can "get wet"— this is surfer language for getting in the water with your surfboard. You paddle out into the water, behind where the waves break. When you see a wave come, paddle until the wave is under the surfboard, and then pop up. Ride the wave straight to the beach. You surfed! Good surfers want a long ride. They don't surf straight to the beach. That is a short ride. They surf across the water from one side to the other and ride the "face" of the wave. If the surfers are very good, and practice for many years, they can ride inside the "tube" of a big wave. How do you know if there are good waves for you to surf? Go on your computer! Many popular surf beaches have surfcams. These are video cameras that show how high and how fast the waves are. Now get wet, practice a lot, and maybe you can hang ten!

CHAPTER 3 Surfer's Paradise YOU CAN SURF ON BEAUTIFUL BEACHES ALL AROUND THE WORLD. Many surfers want to surf the waves at Pipeline in Oahu, Hawaii. There, the waves are more than six meters high. Oahu is the most famous surfing place in the world, but it's very dangerous. Sometimes the best surfers get hurt or die here. Another dangerous place is Mavericks in California, USA. Only the best surfers try to surf here. You can't paddle out because the waves are too high and too strong. Someone has to take you out to the waves with a jet ski. Then, you wait for one of the 25-meter waves and try not to fall. A very good surfer, Mark Foo, died here in 1994. For a very long ride, surfers go to Jeffreys Bay, South Africa. The waves there are called Supertubes. Very good surfers can ride these waves for 300 meters. In Europe, the best place to surf is Hossegor, near Biarritz, France. Many popular surf beaches are near small, sleepy towns, but not Hossegor. In 1854, Napoleon III and his wife, Empress Eugénie, had a very large house there. Today, the rich and famous live there, too. You can surf in the morning and look for movie stars on the beach in the afternoon. Then in the evening, eat fantastic French food and go to sleep in Napoleon's house— today, it's a hotel!

Portugal is a good place to watch surfing. The waves are much too high for most surfers. In January 2013, Hawaiian surfer Garrett McNamara surfed a 30-meter wave off the coast of Nazaré. That may be the world record for the highest wave surfed! Did you know you can see the Statue of Liberty and go surfing on the same day? There's a good surf beach in Montauk, only three hours from New York City by train. Or how about riding a camel to the beach? The coast of Morocco is next to the hot, dry Sahara Desert. There are not a lot of surf towns or hotels along the coast. Some people bring their own food and water and everything they need. But the waves are some of the best in the world. How about surfing near a jungle? On Tamarindo Beach in Costa Rica, you can hear monkeys and toucans as you wait for the next wave. And the water is warm, so you won't need a wetsuit. The Gold Coast of Australia is one of the best places in the world to surf, for good surfers and for new ones, too. Maybe it's the place for you!

CHAPTER 4 Surf Culture SUN, SWIMSUITS, AND SURFING! Most people can't surf on a surfboard made from a tree like Duke Kahanamoku did. So, in the 1920s, some people made new, bigger surfboards. These boards floated well and were easier for surfers to use. And, more people had cars. It was easier to take a surfboard from beach to beach in California and look for good waves. So, more people started surfing. Two Hollywood movies showed this new surfer culture to the world. In 1959, Gidget showed beautiful young men and women having fun, falling in love, going to the beach, and surfing. Many young people in the USA wanted that kind of life. They bought surfboards and swimsuits. The beaches in California and Hawaii were packed! Then, in 1966, The Endless Summer came out. This movie was very different from Gidget. It shows two men from California looking for the "perfects wave." The men travel to beautiful places all over the world. People wanted to see those places, too. Today, there are popular surfing movies, too. The 2012 movie Chasing Mavericks is about Jay Moriarty. At age 16, he was the youngest person to surf the dangerous Mavericks waves.