Surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...

was first started in the Portuguese island of

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

in the 1970s off the villages of

Paul do Mar Paul do Mar is a civil parish in the municipality of Calheta, in the Portuguese archipelago of Madeira. The population in 2011 was 871, in an area of 1.40 km2. History The origin of the toponymy ''paul do mar'' is linked to its geographic p ...

Jardim do Mar Jardim do Mar (Portuguese for ''garden of the sea'') is a civil parish in the western part of the municipality of Calheta in the Portuguese island of Madeira. The population in 2011 was 204, in an area of 0.74 km².Billabong Billabong ( ) is an Australian term for an oxbow lake, an isolated pond left behind after a river changes course. Billabongs are usually formed when the path of a creek or river changes, leaving the former branch with a dead end. As a result ...

Challenge".The Encyclopaedia of Surfing
/ref> In 2001, the World Big Wave Championships were held in Madeira for the first time

References

External links

'Wannasurf' page on Surfing in Madeira'Lost Jewel of the Atlantic'
{{Surfing Sport in Madeira Bodyboarding