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According to the Guinness Book of Records, the first known sighting of people surfing waves was recorded by Captain Cook in December 1771 when he saw Polynesians surfing their canoes in Tahiti. The first sighting of surfing standing on boards was described by Lt James King at Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii, in March 1779. This would seem to cast doubts on surfing's claim as the sport of the Polynesian kings but, be that as it may, the art of surfing in a standing position took over for many years until surfing a canoe was revived by Australian lifeguards in 1932.
In South Africa the sport of surfing seated started in the early fifties in two diverse ways. The lifeguards started adapting their skis in the Australian way and canoeists in Natal adapted their canoes to ride the waves in their off season - looking for excitement in riding waves, a flat bottomed wooden ski, the Crocker ski, was developed. It was about 14 foot long, 4½ foot wide with the paddle attached to the nose. It was paddled out through the surf and once the wave was caught, the rider would stand up holding onto the paddle and control the ski by leaning backwards or to the side. There was the sheer exhilaration of catching the biggest possible wave and taking the drop, with the wave crashing behind you whilst you headed straight for the beach (allowing any number of skis to catch the same wave).
From this developed the present surf ski. Lifesavers developed a ski for racing. It was narrow, long and round-bottomed with a rudder and resembled a canoe with a hollow, closed construction with foot wells and a seat moulded into the upper deck. It is used today in iron man events, long-distance racing and for exercise and recreation, being immortalised in the TV series 'Magnum'.
In the late 1960s a lifesaver, Tony Scott, developed the first of the forerunners to the modern waveski. It was moulded fiberglass, flat-bottomed, 9 foot long and narrow with kick-up in the nose. The Scotty Ski's chief advantage was that it was fast and could be turned, but required strength rather than skill to maneuver.
Canoeists using slaloms developed the art of riding waves in rivers and then ventured into the sea where they demonstrated their skills in controlling their craft by doing face rolls, Eskimo rolls on the face of a breaking wave or dropping down a wave digging the nose into the deep water and using the buoyancy to shoot upwards, executing cartwheels and pirouettes. However, in shallow breaking conditions these craft were totally unsuited and were easily damaged. In big surf they were hazardous and difficult to control.
In the early 1970s the Canadian Slipper or Yak was introduced to South Africa. A few hardy canoeists would climb into these banana-shaped, flat-bottomed craft, fit their splash covers on tightly and challenge the waves. They would slip sideways, shoot up and drop backwards like a pendulum, spin, do pirouettes, facerolls and cartwheels but, lacked the proper control on the wave face and would tend to skip off the face thereby losing the wave. This craft was developed to its ultimate on the west coast of America by Merve Larsen. These skis' manoeuvres were unique and did not resemble other forms of surfing but rather 'kayak surfing' of today.
In South Africa a group of canoeists belonging to the Mfuleni Canoe Club started holding the first 'paddle surfing', as it was called then, contests in an assortment of Yaks and Scotty Skis. They met with a howl of derisive protests from surfers who, by this time, were performing highly sophisticated manoeuvres with excellent control. Imagine the horror on surfers' faces when faced with an out-of-control Yak being pushed mercilessly in the white water, straight towards unprotected surfers. This only served to conduct their dislike for 'paddle surfers'. Much as the 'paddle surfers' tried to annihilate surfing and compete for the best surf spots, it was evident to all that the craft were totally inadequate. 'Paddle surfers' could always catch the best and biggest waves long before the surfers could, but could not manoeuvre as easily or as skilfully. This was a bone of contention between the two sports. It was war!
The most important task facing the fledgling sport was to develop expertise and thereby gain the respect of all associated watersports. On 5th September 1976, the Natal Paddle Surfing Association was founded by the Mfuleni 'paddle surfers'. Its aims and objectives were to organise, encourage growth and promote the sport in South Africa by introducing competitions on an individual, inter-club and interprovincial level.
It was discovered that the addition of a skeg prevented loss of control and immediately opened up the wave face to skis. These early pioneers Jack James, Paul Brockman, Tim Driman and Rippon Morford joined forces with the surfers and in 1975 brought to South Africa Tony Blackwell, the British Champion, and Danny Broadhurst, the U.S.A. Champion. They participated in the first International Paddle Surfing Competition, held in Durban in conjunction with the Gunston 500. These South Africans purchased the Surfer Mark II Yak from Danny. This craft was reproduced both as a Yak and ski. Its skeg and skegbox design were copied and used on a multitude of skis and Yaks.
The 'paddle surfers' were now able to take on the classic waves of Jeffreys' Bay and Cave Rock. The organisation had grown and the stimulus of overseas competition had resulted in the foundation of provincial associations in Western Province, Southern Cape, Eastern Province and Border. This resulted in the founding of the South African Paddle Surfing Association on 11th July 1977.
This was followed by an invitation to participate in a second International Contest held on the East Coast of the U.S.A. at Atlantic City in 1976. The contest was attended by 6 South Africans, 9 Britons and a group of resident Americans. Paul Brockman of South Africa won.
The success of this competition resulted in another in 1978 at Moutauk, on Long Island U.S.A. Paul Brockman won again.
However, it was Australia that our attention was drawn to with reports from local and international (stand-up) surfers of the skillful talent of the 'paddle surfers' Down Under. However, with no organisational structure to administer the sport there, contacts remained on a personal level.
The first major contest in Australia was held in 1978 at Bondi Beach and a loose network of clubs and associations came into being.
The first World Titles for 'paddle surfing' was being planned and a 'Pre-Worlds' competition was organised for Montauk in 1980. Again, attended by teams from South Africa, U.S.A. and the U.K., this event was won by Kola le Roux of South Africa.
The Festival Games in 1981 provided us with the opportunity of inviting an administrator of the Australian Waveski Association, Mr Nigel Hobbs, to South Africa to witness both the South African Championships and the Festival Games. The result was positive and immediately a team of 6 top Australians, led by Paul Wise and Roger Shackleton, arrived in South Africa in 1982 for a series of contests. They brought with them short, narrow, high-backed, unstable skis which were exceptionally manoeuvrable but difficult to paddle out through a break.
The competition was excellent with the South Africans winning each of the three contests. The Yaks were as old as dinosaurs, clumsy and unmanagable and the skis, not the riders' skill, were determining who won. There followed a period of experimentation in ski shapes and designs but, the 'radical' development took place after the first official World Titles in February 1984.
As the South Africa national body was the most financially secure and most organised, they accepted the responsibility of trying to organise an international competition. The World Titles which were intended to follow the 1981 Montauk contest had never materialised.
The inaugural World Titles to be organised and held in South Africa was planned for February 1984. Entries were invited from the U.S.A., U.K., Australia, France and Japan but only riders from Australia, Britain and South Africa participated, the other countries having few organisational abilities.
The internationals first met the local riders in Open Competitions at Nahoon Reef (East London) and Victoria Bay (George), winning these events and providing stimulus to the average rider. The World Titles followed in Cape Town at Noordhoek where the Australians won convincingly.
It was during these World Titles that an explosive reformation occurred and the sport as we know it in South Africa, came of age.
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