National Geographic Traveller - UK (2022-07 & 2022-08)

Sources: surfertoday.com britannica.com factretriever.com guinnessworldrecords.com savethewaves.org

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ORDS:

MEGAN

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GHES

TO CELEBRATE NORTH DEVON BECOMING THE UK’S FIRST WORLD SURFING

RESERVE, DIVE INTO THE HISTORY OF ONE OF THE WORLD’S OLDEST SPORTS

Surf ’s up

THE INFO

12

The number of World Surfing

Reserves, including North

Devon and Malibu.

19 miles

North Devon World Surfing Reserve

runs from Saunton to Lynmouth

78 feet

The largest wave ever surfed. This

monster wave was conquered by

Garrett McNamara in Nazaré, Portugal.

43. 1 miles

The longest surfing distance

ever recorded was by Gary

Saavedra in Panama in 2011.

66

In 2015, 66 people surfed for 12

seconds on the world’s largest

surfboard, which was 42 ft long.

MANLY,

AUSTRALIA

Sydney’s beaches

saw several ‘firsts’ for

Australian surfing,

including the first

official world surfing

championships

in 1964.

SANTA CRUZ,

CALIFORNIA,

USA

The laid-back surf

hotspot of Santa

Cruz celebrated its

10th anniversary

as a World Surfing

Reserve in April.

HUANCHACO,

PERU

Often referred to

as the birthplace of

surfing, Huanchaco

enjoys a thriving

local surf scene that

honours the area’s

aquatic heritage.

ERICEIRA,

PORTUGAL

Rugged cliff faces

and highly varied

surf breaks make this

an ideal destination

for surfers of all

abilities, from

beginner to pro.

The first Olympic gold medals in surfing were awarded to

Brazil’s Italo Ferreira and the USA’s Carissa Moore last year.

Agatha Christie learnt

to surf in 1922 while on a

visit to Waikiki, Hawaii.

IN 2011 A RESCUED AUSTRALIAN

KELPIE NAMED ABBIE GIRL SET

A RECORD FOR THE LONGEST

WAVE SURFED BY A DOG, WITH

AN INCREDIBLE 352 FOOT RIDE.

Surf stats

in numbers

3000–1 000 BC

Evidence suggests
Peruvian fishermen
used to build and ride
reed surfboards.

1885

Surfing arrives in the

USA, courtesy of three

teenage Hawaiian

princes boarding there.

1930

The first hollow

surfboard design is

mass-produced by

American Tom Blake.

1953

The Waikiki Surf Club

hosts the inaugural

International Surfing

Championships.

2009

Malibu, USA,

becomes the first

World Surfing

Reserve.

2016

The International

Olympic Committee

votes to include surfing

in the next games.

EXPLORE WORLD SURFING RESERVES

A TIMELINE OF SURFING

150 NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.CO.UK/TRAVEL

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