Where and when did surfboarding come from?

Answer 1

surfing got its start as popular pastime in Hawaii and through out Polynesia. no one knows when but they were already surfing when they came into contact with the Europeans.

Answer 2

Nobody knows when, or precisely where, surfing originated. Captain James Cook, a British sea captain and explorer, was the first European to witness surfing. Different web sources site two different "first times" either at Tahiti in 1769 or in Hawaii in 1778.

The San Diego State University Special Collections and University Archives reports that in ~ 300 A.D. the Polynesians who arrived in Hawaii were excellent fishermen and were documented as playing in the surf with "belly boards."

There is no actual written or recorded history of the first surfers but it is generally accepted that the Pacific gave birth to the pastime. Peru inhabitants may have even been the very first to ride surf, prone or on their knees on craft shaped using reeds, when returning from fishing expeditions, as long as 4000 years ago. This practice then spread with the migrating Pacific population where it eventually found a spiritual home in the Hawaiian islands, which is now recognized as the surfing worlds epicenter. Hawaii's population mastered the art of standing on a surfboard around a 1000 years ago with both Royalty and Commoners practicing the sport. In fact in Hawaii Kings used surfing as a way of showing prowess and skill to their subjects thus reinforcing their status. The kings used to ride huge "olo" balsa boards reserved only for them which were 18-25 ft in length, whilst the rest of the population had to ride smaller "alaia" surfboards.