Surfing -- Surfing was invented by the Polynesians; Captain Cook made note of it in Oahu in 1778. George Freeth (1883-1918), who first surfed Redondo Beach in 1907, is widely credited with introducing the sport to California. But surfing didn't catch on until the 1950s, when Cal Tech graduate Bob Simmons invented a more maneuverable lightweight fiberglass board. The Beach Boys and other surf-music groups popularized Southern California in the minds of beach-babes and -dudes everywhere, and the rest, as they say, is history. You'll also find some great surf an hour or two down the coast in the Huntington Beach and Newport areas of Orange County.

If you're a first-timer eager to learn the sport, contact Pure Surfing Experience (tel. 310/546-4451; www.campsurf.com) in Manhattan Beach. This highly respected school features a team of experienced instructors and will supply all necessary equipment. Single lessons are $80, but subsequent follow-ups are deeply discounted. Call for reservations (also available online).

Boards are available for rent at shops near all top surfing beaches in the L.A. area. Zuma Jay Surfboards, 22775 Pacific Coast Hwy., Malibu (tel. 310/456-8044), is about a quarter-mile south of Malibu Pier. Rentals are $20 per day, plus $8 for wet suits in winter.

Windsurfing -- Invented and patented by Hoyle Schweitzer of Torrance in 1968, windsurfing, or sail-boarding, is a fun sport that's much more difficult than it looks. The Long Beach Windsurf & Kayak Center, 3850 E. Ocean Ave., Long Beach (tel. 562/433-1014), offers lesson and rentals in Alamitos Bay. Twenty-five dollars will get you the use of a board for 4 hours; an $115 learner's package includes instruction from 8am to noon, use of board and wet suit, and a certificate for a free half-day rental once you've gotten the hang of it. Kayak and in-line skate rentals and instruction are also available.