In search of good surf, Tom Bauer opened a world map one day and identified 183 countries where he believed there were waves to ride.

But as he sat in his Hawaii home dreaming of swells brushing against empty, exotic beaches, something else caught his attention.

Many of those coastal nations - India, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cuba, Nicaragua - also had large concentrations of poor people, he realized.

So Bauer embarked on a mission to visit each country to not just catch waves but also help residents in need through the nonprofit group Surfing The Nations.

The Honolulu-based group - a sort of surfers' Peace Corps - has since traveled to the Maldives, Japan, Costa Rica, Morocco, Taiwan and several other countries to promote surfing's healthy lifestyle. Volunteers donate surfboards and equipment such as leashes and wax but also bring clothing, toys, teach water safety and provide health care.

Locally, the organization, founded about a decade ago, feeds the needy four times a week and conducts drug prevention sessions at schools and surfing and skateboarding meets. This summer, it got a city grant to host a “;Freedom Surf Contest”; at Waikiki's Queen's Surf Beach during the Mother's Day weekend.

Although Bauer, 59, grew up in California during the '60s and '70s, when surfing was associated with party-loving outcasts, he credits the sport for putting him on a clean path.

“;It gave me a purpose and an alternative to drugs and everything else,”; said Bauer, who moved to Oahu in 1979. “;In all these different nations, surfing is keeping these kids out of trouble.”;

He remembers meeting Bangladesh's first surfer, a lifeguard who had bought a surfboard from a visiting Australian for $30. That was around 1999. Now, Jafar Alam is regarded as “;The Duke Kahanamoku of Bangladesh,”; said Bauer, whose group has set up a surf club and contests that have drawn up to 120 participants.

Teenagers, he said, “;are becoming instant sports celebrities because they are introducing surfing to the rest of the community.”; They also had kids accompany them to orphanages to hand out clothes.

The surfing safaris also allow Bauer and his volunteers, many of whom are college students and recent graduates, to learn about different cultures. They have spent time with Palestinians in the turbulent Gaza Strip and assisted tsunami relief workers in Sri Lanka, Bauer said. Many people, he said, would be surprised to know there are some 3,000 surfers in Israel.

On Thursday , Bauer and a group of 18 surfers left for their next adventure: Egypt, where they will hold that country's first national surf competition, the Egypt Aloha Surf Classic, tomorrow and Friday.

The Mediterranean Sea is forecast to push fun waves toward Bianchi Beach.

“;They have a tropic calendar that predicts storms,”; Bauer said. “;We know there will be storm and waves in Egypt, in the city of Alexandria.”;