The mouth of the San Lorenzo river in Santa Cruz, Calif., isn't a great place to surf. Rocks, pollution and swift currents make it precarious almost year-round. But before the construction of a harbor in the mid-1960s altered the surroundings, the spot was a surfer's paradise, with easy, consistent swells. "They looked very much like the breakers in Honolulu," said cultural historian and longtime surfer Geoffrey Dunn.
Dunn said this reminder of home is what inspired three teenage members of the Hawaiian royal family, in 1885, to unleash a sport then known as "surfboard swimming" on an unsuspecting American public. "It was a royal sport," Dunn said. "They were part of that tradition in Honolulu."
A popular sport with little-known roots
Surfing has grown in popularity in this country in recent years. The Sports & Fitness Industry Association's (SFIA) 2025 surfing report shows an 8% average annual growth from 2019 to 2024. "Participation in the sport continues to climb, fueled by youthful energy, broader diversity and a growing appetite for outdoor, wellness-driven lifestyles," said an online statement from the Surf Industry Members Association, quoting the SFIA's research.
But few Americans know how the sport first came to these shores 140 years ago. A new exhibition at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History aims to change that. " I think it's important for us to recognize that the seed of surfing in the Americas was the result of these Hawaiians who brought it here," Dunn said.
Dunn said Hawaii's royal family sent siblings David Kawānanakoa, Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole and Edward Keliʻiahonui to study abroad at St. Matthew's Military School, an elite school in San Mateo County, not far from Santa Cruz, with the aim of preparing them to be worldly and well-informed modern rulers. "As part of the globalization of trade in the 19th century, people came from all over the world to Hawaii," Dunn said.
From Hawaiian to Californian wood
The brothers had grown up riding the waves atop giant surfboards made out of native Hawaiian woods such as ulu and koa. In California, they fashioned them out of the local redwood. Dunn pointed out gleaming replicas of these artifacts, on display in the exhibition, alongside surfboards illustrating the evolution of the spot throughout history. (The reproductions are based on originals from the estate of one of the princes, which are now housed at the Bishop Museum on Oahu.)
" They probably weigh eight times more than current surfboards at least," Dunn said, adding the princes' boards were twice as long and didn't have fins to help with stabilization. "So much tougher to surf. But of course, that's what they had been using in Hawaii."
A big splash
In California, the royal brothers made a big splash. An article from the July 20, 1885 edition of a local newspaper, the Santa Cruz Surf, told all about it. "The young Hawaiian princes were in the water, enjoying it hugely and giving interesting exhibitions of surfboard swimming as practiced in their native islands," the article said.
These aquatic feats left a lasting impression on the citizens of Santa Cruz following the princes' departure, which likely happened in 1887, according to the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History. Eleven years after they first demonstrated their art, the Santa Cruz Surf noted how it had been picked up by locals. "The boys who go swimming in the surf at Seabright Beach use surfboards to ride the breakers, like the Hawaiians," a July 23, 1896 notice in the publication stated. (Seabright Beach is a popular beach in Santa Cruz.)
Hawaiian response
The princes' acts of "surf diplomacy" also resonated with Hawaiians.
"The story about the three princes is a famous story in our culture," said Brian Keaulana. Keaulana comes from a line of legendary Hawaiian surfers, and is also a producer on Chief of War, the Apple TV+ new drama series about the battle to unite the Hawaiian islands in the 18th century. (The series, which stars Jason Momoa, includes royal Hawaiian characters, but it doesn't include surfing — though one episode features an epic underwater "shark surfing" scene.)
Keaulana said it wasn't until the early 20th century the sport truly caught on in the U.S. and beyond, popularized in large part by the Hawaiian swimming champ and surfer Duke Kahanamoku. "Duke spread surfing around the world," Keaulana said.
He added the Hawaiian princes' visit to California in the 1880s was an important precursor — one that not only benefitted people on the U.S. mainland, but Hawaiians, too.
"They came back with redwood boards," Keaulana said, adding that the new technology eventually caught on in Hawaii when redwood became the dominant surfboard material on the islands in the first half of the 20th century. Keaulana added: " It's funny how those things get passed on."
Copyright 2025 NPR
