When you’re on the deck of your cruise ship off the coast of Hawaii, you may just catch a glimpse of some dedicated surfers riding on top of a tall wave. Watch the sun beat down on their glistening backs as the sea spray hits their tanned faces.

Hawaii is a surfer’s paradise. The Pacific, after all, is where surfing originated and became almost an art. Hawaiians used to have a strict social class order called “kapu”. The kapu system of laws separated royal Hawaiians from commoners.

Surfing was a big part of traditional Hawaiian culture, and kapu law determined where people could surf, how big their surfboards were, and even what materials boards could be made out of. Of course, Hawaiian royalty had the best and biggest boards, as well as the choicest surfing spots. And, it wasn’t just the men who had all the surfing fun. Some of the women surfed too.

When early Europeans sailed to Hawaii, they had difficulty understanding what this water sport was all about. Riding huge waves on thin boards seemed strange to them.

Surfing eventually died out as Hawaii became a U.S. colony. However, a few passionate “beachboys” refused to give up their birthright.

In the 20th century, surfing experienced a re-birth as adventure-seeking Americans began to catch on to this exhilarating sport. Now surfing is more popular than ever, and even has it’s own surf culture.

Modern surfers have simply discovered what the ancient Hawaiians knew all along – how good it feels to catch a big wave.