Stepping Into History

Today marks the 130th anniversary of the first documented instance of surfing in Santa Cruz. To celebrate this landmark event, some of the area's finest professional surfers rode replicas of the original boards used by the Hawaiian princes who introduced the sport of kings to the mainland on July 19, 1885.

For the past several weeks,  local crews have lovingly crafted thirteen new solid redwood boards, milled and shaped by hand using traditional techniques. The tallest, a sixteen foot o'lo board weighing close to 200 pounds, is a duplicate of the original. 

I don't know anything about surfing, but I was intrigued by the chanting, bestowing of leis, and the ceremony of blessing the boards and their riders. Large crowds cheered the surfers as they carried these massive planks to the water. One board required ten hefty guys from a Hawaiian motorcycle club to move it to the water line, with much laughter and delight. Photographers abounded, including two drones which were buzzed by frantic seagulls trying to protect their skies. In a funny clash of cultures, one of the riders stuck a GoPro camera on the front of his pristine board; it seemed a sacrilege to me to violate that fine wood with such a gadget. Once in the water, the surfers had to contend with a pretty flat sea while simultaneously dodging a couple of classes of beginning surfers, and being careful to manoeuvre around people bobbing in the water wearing big white helmets with GoPro cameras attached to their heads. . A most enjoyable morning.


Next day's addendum:  here is a note from Monday's newspaper: "As thunder boomed and a rare display of lightning flashed on the western horizon, a crowd of 200 watched as Kumu Kaui Peralto, a hula teacher from Antioch, blessed a quiver of redwood boards on Cowell beach."  (I love "quiver": a quiver of boards oh my…)

" 'We honor the spirit of the mountains where the wood came from and the spirit of the oceans where they go, ' Peralto said. 'We ask for guidance and safety for the riders of the surfboards. Lastly, we honor the spirits of the alii, our royalty, the princes.' "