Young Surfing Girl

References to surf riding on planks and single canoe hulls are also verified for pre-contact Samoa, where surfing was called fa'ase'e or se'egalu (Kramer, Samoa Islands) and Tonga.
Ocean surface wave
Swell is generated when wind blows consistently over a large area open water, called the wind's fetch. The size a swell is determined by the strength the wind and the length its fetch and duration. Because this, surf tends to be larger and more prevalent on coastlines exposed to large expanses ocean traversed by intense low pressure systems.