But like a message in a bottle borne on the sea, the story of two Palestinian master swimmers swept up on the coast of Hawaii and drew the attention of American surfing legend Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz.
Paskowitz decided to help them after seeing "two surfers in Gaza with a stinking board" in a magazine at his home in Hawaii.
Earlier this week the 87-year-old surfing guru turned up at the Erez crossing between Israel and the impoverished Palestinian coastal area with 15 new surfboards.
"If guys can surf together they can live together, it is as simple as that," the retired American Jewish doctor told AFP as he and members of his Surfing For Peace Movement handed the colourful boards to Gaza riders at a small ceremony.
Paskowitz rustled up support of a chain of Israel sports shops to buy the boards and then persuaded the Israeli army to open the crossing point which had been almost permanently sealed since Hamas took over Gaza by force in mid-June.
The only other frontier openings have been for absolute necessities, not for surfboards which are viewed here purely as frivolous baubles.
On Gaza beach, Ahmed Abu Hassira, 28, and Mohammed Abu Jayyad, 34, each proudly display their boards and new T-shifts bearing a major sporting brand struck with the name of surfing champion Kelly Slater who supported the operation.
They are still dumbfounded by it all. "You imagine! An American Jew heard about us while reading the magazine in... Where was it? Ah yes, Hawaii. And he came here to give us the boards. It‘s madness," laughed Ahmed.
"That‘s it, you are famous now with all these journalists," joked one of their friends who was sunbathing.
Nine years ago, Ahmed went into a Gaza shop selling second-hand goods coming from Israel. "There was a board. I had already seen this sport on television and had immediately liked it. I bought the board," he said.
Since then, the two companions have surfed the waves of Gaza. There is certainly little resemblance to the surf of Honolulu but the waves are enough to give them their breath of fresh air.
"When you are on land, your head is full of problems. But when you surf the waves, you forget everything -- the occupation, the (Israeli) sealing off of the territory, bombardments, lack of money, the power cuts," said Ahmed, keeping an eye on the bathers, a whistle hanging around his neck.
Mohammed added: "You‘re in another world. You have a brief instant of freedom."
They‘re also quite happy with the ‘cool‘ label attached to surfing. "When you surf, those on the beach watch us, it pleases them. The girls watch us closely from behind their veils," he said smiling, but slightly embarrassed at his confession.
Thanks to Dorian Paskowitz, "the world has seen for once something from Gaza other than war. It‘s seen that we, the Palestinians of Gaza, are normal people," he added.
What about the idea of making peace through surfing? "Why not. Everything has to start somewhere," said Mohammed. "Dorian wants to bring two peoples closer, great! Jews, Arabs, Christians, in the end we are all human beings, aren‘t we?"
Seizing the chance to expand the idea, Ahmed added: "We would like to set up a surfing schools in Gaza, where one can teach us how to pass our passion onto the youngsters of Gaza. All those of goodwill would be welcome."