A Birthday of Note

Today is the birthday of Duke Kahanamoku, the "godfather" of surfing, an Olympic swimming champion who challenged racial limitations on international competition and generally regarded as the best representative the sport has ever known.  To quote from an older posting on The Coracle:

The story of his rescue of sailors from a sinking boat is worth reading, as it explains why California lifeguards to this day use surfboards as one of their rescue tools. [A practice that's beginning to take hold in the eastern USA, too.]  It also represents the qualities of self-sacrifice and compassion for which Duke was known and which informed traditional, pre-commercialized surfing, as his nature and character offer what's best about the very odd sport and spirituality of surfing.

Also, Duke was an Episcopalian.