Surfing From the Journal of Captain King, Cook's Voyages, March 1779, three months after the death of Captain 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 …showed first 75 words of 1670 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1670 total…disregard for personal safety. If you paddle out thinking you are going to get hurt, you will. If you think you can't make the drop, you won't. If you begin to wonder what in the world you're doing out among those menacing waves, it's time to be thankful you're still alive and head for the beach." It was this kind of thrill seeking and addiction to big wave riding that revolutionized the sport of surfing.