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
Air Tahiti Nui Air Tahiti Nui Air Tahiti Nui is a French airline with its head office in Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia, France. It operates long-haul flights from its home base at Faa'a International Airport. Air Tahiti Nui was established on 31 October 1996 and commenced flight operations on 20 November 1998. It is the first international airline based in Papeete, Tahiti, formed to develop inbound tourism. The government of French Polynesia is the major shareholder (84.4%) along with other local investors. Currently, Air Tahiti Nui has 782 employees. In May 2015, Air Tahiti Nui announced its intention to replace its entire fleet,