The oldest surfboards date to the 6th century, when early Hawaiians practiced he’e nalu, what we call surfing today. Common-folk islanders rode the waves on 10- to 12-foot wooden alaia boards made from native koa trees. Chiefs surfed on olos, which could be as long as 24 feet and as heavy as 200 pounds. Captain Cook’s diaries from 1777 describe Hawaiians surfing, but missionaries in the 1800s frowned on the activity—by the end of the 19th...Continue Reading