Surfing was first started in the Portuguese island of

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

in the 1970s off the villages of Paul do Mar,

Jardim do Mar Jardim do Mar ( Portuguese for ''garden of the sea'') is a civil parish in the western part of the municipality of Calheta in the Portuguese island of Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Re ...

and Ponta Pequena. Almost every surf spot has a rocky bottom with powerful waves; the winter months are particularly consistent. Madeira did not really come to the attention of foreign surfers until articles in surfing magazines in the mid-1990s. Since 1996, top Portuguese surfers from the mainland compete in the Madeira regional edition of the "

Billabong Billabong ( ) is an Australian term for an oxbow lake, an isolated pond left behind after a river changes course. Billabongs are usually formed when the path of a creek or river changes, leaving the former branch with a dead end. As a result ...

Challenge".The Encyclopaedia of Surfing
/ref> In 2001, the World Big Wave Championships were held in Madeira for the first time

References

External links

'Wannasurf' page on Surfing in Madeira'Lost Jewel of the Atlantic'
{{Surfing Sport in Madeira Bodyboarding