German and Scottish missionaries turned up in the Hawaiian islands and very nearly ruined it for everyone. Being prudish religious zealots they banned surfing. The act of men and women riding waves naked together didn’t go down well with these ambassadors for European Christianity.

“Missionaries turned up in the Hawaiian islands and very nearly ruined it for everyone.”

Thankfully surfing survived though and was practiced out of sight of the missionaries. Some of the wealthier Hawaiians attending boarding schools in California even took boards with them and the late 1800’s saw the first sightings of wave riding in the Golden State.