Skatesurfing on ice in Sweden (in the 1880s)

Windsurfing is today an extremely popular sport in many parts of the world, also in Sweden. However, due to the country's northern location, the season for ordinary surfing is rather short. But there has been a winter alternative - skatesurfing or sailing) on ice - for at least 130 or so years in Sweden.

I am not familiar with the history of Swedish skatesailing, but based on what His Excellency, William Widgery Thomas Jr. - who served as the American Ambassador in Stockholm in the 1880's - writes in his book about his time in Sweden, it was a popular sport already then.

Widgery Thomas describes a day, right after Christmas, when he saw "hundreds of Stockholm youth, girls as well as boys" skating on the frozen sea ice, and among them "about twenty to thirty white sails slowly flying over the ice". "The sails were indeed there, but where was the boat - and where was the mast? None of these could be found, or rather a boy replaced them both".

The enthusiastic ambassador then goes on telling that he knows of no other activity, which in the same way gives you a feeling of "flying forwards".

The ambassador chose the picture below to illustrate what skatesurfing on ice in Stockholm looked like:

Skatesurfing on ice in Stockholm in the 1880s