SURF ... a new way

[ricki]

This was posted from an ironical perspective on kiteforum. Prior to that time I was unfamilar with the fishermen of Chicama, Peru. It looks like another link in the history of standup paddle surfing has just come along.

Originally Posted by selah

Laird Hamilton a surf god? A 16’ Jimmy Lewis custom? Have y’all lost your minds? Next thing you know he’ll be riding one of those wicker baskets used by fishermen at Chicama… Oxbow will shoot the helicopter footage, American Express will run the ad, Dana Brown will reveal basket-surfing’s inner soul to a worldwide audience, just in time for Billabong’s first WCT 5-Star “Basket Brawl” at Linda Mar, CA. But it’s only the beginning, dudes… next it’s big-wave basket-riding, tow-in basketry, localism and the dark side of basket-riding. Tattooed thugs, black shorts, the North Shore Basketweavers.

Where will it end?

Doing a bit of digging on the fishmen and their boards, caballitos de totora or "little reed horses" I came across the following photo:



This image was found in an excellent examination of history of the surfing fishermen of Chicama at:
http://www.waterwaystravel.com/pdf/LINESINTHEDUST.pdf



http://truxillodailyphoto.blogspot.c...totora_29.html



A history of Caballitos de Totora in Spanish



Even Red Bull is getting into the act and shows us how to make a little reed horse. Three surfers girls go to it with their boards of grass.



A view of the reed craft and aft storage area appears above.
From: http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/tt/3aedd/

This practice of surfing has been estimated to have started well before the time of Christ. The craft are usually operated seated but it appears that they are surfed in standing up as well. The appearance of surfing in the islands of the Pacific is examined in "Legendary Surfers", a good read by the way. ( http://www.legendarysurfers.com/ )


The beach
From: www.photolib.noaa.gov/fish/fish2212.htm

Wonder if high strength fiber composites are giving bamboo paddles any heat?

So, did standup paddle surfing originate in Peru? Maybe or perhaps even before then in another place. It seems to be coming back though ...


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