Surfing Guinness Book of World Records recognized a wave ride by Garrett McNamara at Nazaré, Portugal as the largest wave ever surfed. For hundreds of years, surfing was a central part of ancient Polynesian culture. Surfing may have first been observed by British explorers at Tahiti in 1767. Samuel Wallis and the crew members of who were the first Britons to visit the island in June of that year. Another candidate is the botanist Joseph Banks being part of the first voyage of James Cook on , who arrived on Tahiti on 10 April 1769. Lieutenant James King was the first
Hawaii–Tahiti relations Admiral De Tromelin. She was betrothed to Prince Moses Kekūāiwa, but arrived to news of his death. Instead she married John Kapilikea Sumner. Ninito returned to Tahiti with her husband, who served as Hawaiian consul to Tahiti for a number of years. In November 24, 1853, Tahiti and Hawaii signed a postal treaty which set Tahitian postage at 5¢ per ½ oz. and Hawaii postage at 5¢ per ½ oz. This was the only formal diplomatic treaty between the two countries. Hawaii maintained a consul in the Tahitian capital Papeetē, and this representation continued after the French annexation of Tahiti