Surfing History in Florianopolis

Although the lack of bibliographic records referring to surfing was the biggest obstacle in the elaboration of this material, existing data indicate that the gauchos were the first surfers in the south.

The pioneers were two families of gauchos who, after having seen reports about the sport in American magazines, around 1965, traveled and got to know surfing abroad. The gauchos Johanpeter and Sefton were probably the first surfers in the south of the country with typical characteristics: "catching the wave", beach every weekend and vacation, trips in search of new peaks, nomadic life (Gutemberg, 1989).

The first surfers on the Island: the history of surfing in Florianópolis

In the 70s, something new was emerging on the beaches of Florianópolis. They were surfers who were passionate about gliding on the waves. They are names like Celso Ramos Neto, Niltinho Ramos, Jaime Ramos, Toninho Ramos, Edson Pires, Ricardo Schroeder, the Correia brothers (Paulo, Geraldo and Eugênio), Alberto Rodrigues (Betinho), Luciano and Eduardo Paulo Colaço who are part of the first generation of surfers from Santa Catarina Island.

The first generation of surfers was purely amateur, with no desire to make money from surfing or drop out of college or profession for the sport. At first, they didn't quite understand what the real way of surfing was, they just enjoyed that moment of sliding on the foam. It was something different that fascinated them. However, the difficulty in acquiring new equipment encouraged exchanges between surfers, who moved from their hometowns in search of novelties.

Rio de Janeiro was the surfing mecca, and it was ten years ahead of us. That's where the first boards came from. And that's where our surfers went on expeditions to improve their knowledge of the sport.

So little by little, the surf tribe grew more and more. Ramon Filomeno, Toló and Buda (now deceased), Sérgio Pinto, the brothers Bichinhos (Älvaro and Marcelo Pereira Oliveira), Ricardo Pereira Oliveira (cousin of the Bichinhos), Saul Oliveira, Luiz Alberto May (Galician May), Alexandre Fontes, Flávio Boabaid , Roberto Perdigão, Roberto Polli, Ronaldo Lobato, Ary Pereira Oliveira (Aryzinho), Bertoldo and Marcelo Salles, Tarcísio Sheffer, Edson Coxinha, Fedoca, Gabriel (Tatu), Zinho Correia, Renato Ávilla da Silva were some of the names that began to involve, multiplying the number of supporters.

In 1974, the legendary carioca surfer Fernando Moniz, popularly known as Mallard. It was he who boosted modern surfing on Santa Catarina Island. Before coming to Florianópolis, however, Marreco spent some time in Itajaí, where he discovered the "secret points", that is, unexplored beaches with favorable conditions for surfing.

Marreco had an impressive surf, first class, with strong and current maneuvers, never seen by the islanders. This carioca's surfing was a real lesson for local surfers. Marreco says that, when he arrived at Ilha, he could not compete in the surfing championships because he was too early. He didn't have "fun" to dispute the championships because he was much better than the other surfers.

It was he who brought some of the outstanding personalities of surfing to Rio de Janeiro, such as the Miudinhos brothers. The surfing style was different, with different shaped boards. Some island surfers even ordered surfboards from them.

Marreco also helped a lot in the technical parts of the championships that took place. Among them, the first, carried out in 1976 in the Joaquina beach, by columnists Cacau Menezes and Ricardinho Machado, entitled - Rock, Surf & Brotos, which designed surfers Tarcísio Sheffer, in the junior category, and Caxito Douat, in the main category.

This professionalism, which was in its infancy in Florianópolis, began to emerge along with the second generation of surfers, marked by names such as Bita Pereira, Roberto Lima, among others.

With the number of fans increasing, the carioca Hupsel started to manufacture and sell boards on the Island, although the quality of this board left something to be desired in relation to the Tweet surfboards. The latter, made by the carioca Paulinho Guinle, were the great sensation of the time. The "surfistic" community of Florianópolis used to meet in the Tweet surfboardsAt Barra da Lagoa, where Paulinho, in addition to selling his boards, shared the latest news on what was new in surfing.

The Santa Catarina Surf Association (ACS) was founded in 1980 with the realization of the Santa Catarina Circuit, totaling four stages. In 1987 it became recognized as FECASURF (Federação Catarinense de Surf). Another entity that influenced the holding of championships was Master Promoções, created by Flávio Boabaid and Roberto Perdigão.

Source: The Origin of Surfing in Florianópolis - Monograph by Physical Educator Carlos Augusto Bernardo (UFSC).