Forwarded by Matthieu SANTAL

January 30, 2023

It's good to be the king! Had a conversation with Shane Egan this morning, and we got around to talking about Tongan surfing history. Shane had researched Tongan history extensively but all his records were destroyed by the tsunami generated when Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai erupted and sending a Tsunami toward Shane's island home. Included in Shane's stash were two surfboards once owned by Tonga's king and queen. I remembered seeing a photo of the king (a big unit, 6'5" tall and 180kg) riding a board, had a bit of a dig and found this on the Tongan Maritime Museum's facebook page. King Taufa'ahau Tupou 4th surfing in 1967. Being the king meant you could direct navy boats to your favourite spots. The king would often let the queen Halaevalu Mata'aho' Ahome'e paddle out first . . . quite chivalrous . . . until you realize the real motive was to find out if there were any sharks about !

Vehiatua, the surfer who marked the history of Teahupoo

Written by Matthieu SANTAL

Issue of the Tahiti Heritage:

https://www.tahitiheritage.pf/vehiatua-surfeuse-teahupoo/

Vehiatua, the surfer who marked the history of Teahupoo

Vehiatua is a woman who marked the history of surfing in Teahupoo (Tahiti). She was a very beautiful surfer who came from Raiatea. During a visit to Tahiti, she learned that in Teahupoo was preparing a party for the horue (the ancestor of surfing). The day arrived. The waves were beautiful and foaming as they came ashore. The drums were beating. Young girls and boys arrived, covered with flowers, calling to each other, dancing, joyful. They disappeared under the waves, reappeared behind them. Standing on their boards, they looked like birds. Shouts and applause greeted them as they soared.

From the shore, the crowd saw Vehiatua stand up as if she were walking on the sea. She untied her hair that had been tied tightly, letting it spread over her body as she cried out in a voice that echoed far away. "I am Vehiatua, ite matai, the child of the winds, she who rides the waves of Taaroa. As she came over the waves, her fair skin shone in the water, her hair covered her whole body. She moved forward with her friends, like beautiful birds gliding on the sunlit water. As they approached the shore, spontaneous applause broke out, the crowd exclaimed, "What a beauty! What a beauty! "and the applause grew louder and louder until it all echoed in the ears of King Teihe moe roa.

Go," ordered the king, "tell the people that there is only one king in Teahupoo, and that is me, Teihe moe roa i Matahihae. Tahiti must not know that anyone other than me has been applauded in Teahupoo. Tell that person that from now on he or she will no longer be called Vehiatua ite matai. From now on that name will be mine. She must leave Teahupoo immediately. From then on, the king took the surfer's name, so that the applause would return to him.

A new issue of the Ocean Magazine

By Robert WALD

Click on the PDF logo to access the magazine

Here is the February/March edition of Ocean 2023 magazine, it is completely free and available online.

In this edition, you will find several articles, including one dedicated to Wilbur Kookmeyer, who is a comic book hero of the surf culture in the years 1980-1990.

But also a page on Hap Jacobs, who is one of the best traditional shapers in California. The Jacob logo is inseparable from the classic longboard located in Hermosa Beach.

Did you know ?

By Alexandre ABBADI

When the waves pass over the surfer, it's called "getting blocked" because you can't go left or right, just straight.

The largest recorded wave was 530 meters in Lituya Bay on the south coast of Alaska.

Movie

Link to the movie:

https://www.thesurfnetwork.com/detail/dccbd59063c80ba43f7e7a31a977d3be11cd01200e253c2a/movie

Lost and found (2012)
Doug Walter

Synopsis

Lost and Found is a film based on the discovery of 30,000 negatives found in 3 boxes at a flea market in Los Angeles, Ca. Doug Walker traveled for 3+ years re-uniting photographers as well as surfers with some of surfings best images ever captured. It is a film that truly comes from the heart as stories are told and captured in a way like no other surfing film. Showing people that if stories are not told, they are lost.

News

By Alexandre ABBADI

Alert in Martinique

International surfers animating the Basse-Pointe lake in Martinique, this is the challenge taken up for four years by the organizers of the Martinique Surf Pro. The problem being that suspicions of scams are mentioned. An investigation had been opened following an anonymous letter, sent in 2019 to several institutions, reporting questionable practices by the two organizers.

Nicolas Clémenté and Nicolas Ursulet are both accused of having received money from many Martinican organizations such as the CTM, Cap Nord or the Martiniquais Tourism Committee, by presenting false invoices or by overcharging. If this is confirmed, it will taint this festive event which made it possible to put surfing in Martinique in the spotlight.