Surf! Surf! Surf!

 From the innovative surf gear to maritime science, surfing has been collecting stories, records and achievements. Did you know that…

1. The Hawaiian Islands are the most isolated archipelago on planet earth.
2. The windiest surf city in the world is Wellington, capital of New Zealand.
3. The tallest tsunami so far recorded was the 1958 Lituya Bay mega tsunami, which had a record height of 524 meters (1740 feet).
4. Polyurethane foam was created during the World War II as insulation for refrigerators and airplanes.
5. The first competition won by a thruster surfboard was the Bells Beach Classic, in 1981.
6. Mike Stewart was the first to surf Teahupoo in 1987.
7. Kelly Slater generally starts his day with hot water and lemon.
8. Swells were used by Polynesian navigators to maintain course when no other clues were available, like in foggy nights.
9. Tsunami waves can’t be surfed because they’re too fast and only made of whitewater.
10. Archimedes discovered the law of buoyancy that applies to the surfboard size charts.
11. Teahupoo, the world’s heaviest wave, has claimed the lives of five surfers since 2000.
12. Surfing has been considered the 20th most dangerous sport in the world.
13. A trained surfer can hold his breath for about four minutes, while the static apnea record holder does it for more than 11 minutes.
14. The highest tides in the world can be found in Canada, at the Bay of Fundy. Sometimes the difference between high and low tide is 16.3 meters (53.5 feet).
15. “Hawaiian Holiday” is the first animated short surf movie, released in 1937 by Walt Disney.
16. Mark Foo, the big wave surfer who lost his life at Mavericks, had a passion for martial arts.
17. Surf wax was first applied to a surfboard by Alfred Gallant Jr., a surfer from Los Angeles, in 1935, after observing the effect of liquid wax on the floors of his home.
18. There’s a formula to calculate the number of waves you have surfed in your life.
19. Pat O’Neill, son of wetsuit inventor Jack O’Neill, is responsible for spreading the surf leash, in the early 1970s.
20. Tom Morey, inventor of modern bodyboarding, created the rolling skeg for surfboards.

Source: http://www.surfertoday.com/surfing/8836-things-you-didnt-know-about-surfing