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daniel weston hall : surf-bathing, south yarmouth, 1850

Daniel Weston Hall : Surf-bathing, South Yarmouth, circa 1850.

Extract from
Hall, Daniel Weston:
Artic Rovings,
or The Adventures of a New Bedford Boy on Sea and Land.
Boston, 1861.

Internet Archive?
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Introduction.
Hall spent three-months in Honolulu, but did not report observing surf riding.
In this brief extract he recalls his teenage experiences of surf-bathing at South Yarmouth, circa 1850

Page 11

Here (Martha's Vineyard).were spent some of the happiest days of my life ; but, at the expiration of one year, our Principal, Mr. Magonigal, having moved away, I was transferred to a boarding-school in the town of South Yarmouth.

In this place my love for boating and other aquatic sports, began to manifest itself in such a manner as to call forth the wonder and admiration of the entire community.
I frequently bathed in company with my school-fellows, and upon such occasions, many of the town's people would collect upon the shore, to witness the skill and fearlessness which I displayed while sporting in the surf.

Even at this early age, I could swim faster, dive deeper, and remain under water longer than any of my fellows ; and it was an oft repeated remark, that "young Hall was a genuine web-foot, and born to be a sailor."

Hall, Daniel Weston:
Artic Rovings, or The Adventures of a New Bedford Boy on Sea and Land.
Boston, 1861.

Geoff Cater (2012) : Daniel Weston Hall : Surf-bathing at South Yarmouth, 1850.
http://www.surfresearch.com.au/1861_Hall_Artic_Rovings.html