As an instructor from Corky Carroll’s Surf School gave 9-year-old Maya Madden a gentle push into the whitewash at Bolsa Chica State Beach, her mother snapped photos. It was Maya’s first surf lesson.

HAMPTON BEACH — According to the history books, Europeans first learned about surfing when a British captain named James Cook visited Hawaii in the late 1770s. Through a series of unwise decisions ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Allison Olmsted covers lifestyle for active women as The Gear Diva. There is something magical about that very first time you ...