Description
The first-ever surfers in Britain hit the waves in Bridlington, Yorkshire. A long-lost letter, published for the first time in 2012, reveals two Hawaiian princes and their English guardian went surfing at the resort of Bridlington in September 1890. The document, believed to be the earliest report of the sport in Britain, was uncovered after research into Victorian surfers. In the letter from Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole Piikoi to the Hawaiian consul, Mr. Armstrong, the Prince wrote: “We enjoy the seaside very much and are out swimming every day. The weather has been very windy these few days and we like it very much for we like the sea to be rough so that we are able to have surf riding. We enjoy surf riding very much and surprise the people to see us riding on the surf. Even Wrightson [their tutor] is learning surf riding and will be able to ride as well as we can in a few days more. He likes this very much for it is a very good sport.”
Bibliographic sources
https://www.bridlingtonfreepress.co.uk/lifestyle/brid-is-surfing-on-the-crest-of-a-historical-wave-1-4442913. Image: portrait of Jonah by James J. Williams – HAWAII Magazine, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12725122