Nalu

compiled by Barbara Beecroft 02 03

Dedication

MY PARENTS Thank you Mom and Dad, for creating and supporting my love of travel. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the experiences you’ve given me. I love you both!

THE BOWMAN FAMILY Thank you for being such wonderful people, and such fantastic travel buddies I might add! I’m incredibly grateful to have you all in my lives.

MY SISTER, TAMI Thank you for being such an amazing sister. I am so proud of you and can’t wait to see where you go from here. Also thank you for uploading all of our Hawaii photos for this publication and not deleting any of your silly ones. It was a mistake on your part, but I love you for trusting me... hehe. 04 05

Table of Contents

(p6.) INTRODUCTION About the book and it’s fabulous compiler.

(p10.) Q&A TOURIST EDITION Get the dish from a Hawaiian tourist’s perspective on what it’s like to surf these Pacific shores.

(p16.) HAWAIIAN RENAISSANCE A discussion of Hawaiian surf culture and how localism factors in.

(p32.) DOES LOCALISM “WORK”? A different perspective on Hawaiian localism as it relates to surfing.

(p36.) HOW TO PADDLE OUT TO A LOCALIZED SPOT Opinions and attitudes on going to a ‘locals only’ area.

(p40.) TOP 10 SURF SPOTS IN HAWAII Take a look at some of these hot spots to catch waves.

TAMI BEECROFT 06 07

Introduction

HELLO!

My name is Barb Beecroft and I am the compiler of this book extravaganza! This book is meant to take a quick glance at Hawaiian surf culture as it is currently. I attempted to compile multiple views, as well as get a general idea of what localism means in this society.

I know what you’re thinking. Why would a Iowa State University student studying graphic design and marketing create this? It’s simple really. I design things I find interesting and want to learn more about. I’ve been fortunate enough to have been exposed to Hawaiian culture during previous visits, which sparked my initial interest. That coupled with my desire to actually be able to surf, rather than continue with my graceful falling technique, got me thinking about the surrounding environment.

Localism varies based on culture, and can be a major influence for many. Tourism has many pros and cons depending on the location, however how locals react to tourist participation in everyday activities can be of great significance. My goal for you when reading this book is to get a better sense of localism and it’s effects on Hawaiian surf culture, as well as how that can influence tourist plans for wave riding.

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from their special spots. Another is to What have been your scariest share the waves, things like that. Then moments on a surfboard? there’s a lot of educated guesses like BB: I’ve been concerned when I Q&A WITH who’s got what wave and you don’t try thought the surfboard was going to to impede on someone else’s wave. If hit me after I fell. Those can be the they catch it before you do then you scarier moments when you’re staying back off and get the next one. away from the surfboard. BRIAN BOWMAN Another time would be one day BY BARB BEECROFT In Hawaii, did you usually surf in when we had really big waves in San busy or secluded areas? Clemente. We were all crashing and BB: Busy. Unfortunately I haven’t there was a heavy undertow, so when had a nice trip to Hawaii where you crashed you knew you where I’ve just gone off with maybe a surf going to be underwater for quite a teacher on our own. I’d like to do period of time. Those were scarier that in the future. Take a lesson moments than normal. or two with a surf instructor off on our own away from the busyness of Did you hear any rumors or surfing in Hawaii. But for the most warnings about localism before part everywhere we’ve gone has been surfing in Hawaii? more busy-type surfing, which is still BB: No. We stayed mostly in the really fun, but it’s not quite better tourist areas so there was none waves and things like that. of that. Hawaii has some of the friendliest people, so you don’t find What’s your favorite part a lot of the things that you might about surfing? find in California where they can NICOLE AND BRIAN BOWMAN BB: Moving with the waves. Being be very territorial. able to move without any mechanical power. Moving quite a bit of a Is there much talking going on as this local Chicagoan reflects on his Where have been your favorite distance. There’s always the thrill while surfing? LISTENpast surfing experiences. From the places to surf? of “what if I crash?” “What is the BB: Yes because a lot of times there waves of Southern California all the way out to sunny BB: My favorite place to surf is San undertow like?” The thrill of all that are no waves coming in so everyone’s Oahu. Brian Bowman has ridden his fair share of waves. Clemente pier beach because the when you’re catching bigger waves and just chatting about whatever; the day, break was much better than most. My it tests you a little bit more. It pushes the waves, sports, surf boards, you When and where did you learn to surf? favorite time surfing though was in you to push yourself. You find ways to name it. BB: In southern California, specifically San Clemente, Hawaii because of how gorgeous it is. get better and have more confidence. around the age of 11 or 12. What are some etiquettes Who taught you? of surfing? “Hawaii has some of the friendliest BB: Friends who had surfboards. It was somewhat self- BB: Well there are usually locals taught and somewhat watching and paying attention to who have their own area that they people, so you don’t find a lot of the them. Also we had boogie boarded a lot already so we knew surf in quite a bit. If you befriend the waves and how to catch one. Now it was just a matter them they’ll let you surf there. A things that you might find in California of standing up. lot of times you just try to surf away where they can be very territorial.” -BRIAN BOWMAN 12 13

How do locals view surfing as compared to outsiders? BB: For locals there’s something that draws them to do it everyday. It’s almost like if they go a week without surfing they get cranky. From a locals’ standpoint that’s why they live close to the beach. That’s why they go to the beach every day. That’s probably why they took up surfing. It’s a factor of constantly being around waves, the water, getting better every day. It’s quite a big difference than most people who live off the beach areas where they might only get to do it once a week or once a month or even less. As teens we would take the bus to surf, so it was about an hour trip on a city bus to get to the beach every day.

How many trips have you surfed specifically in Hawaii? BB: 4 or 5 times.

Where is the next place you’d like to try to surf when you go? BB: I’d love to go surf in Maui the next time we’re out there. I’d also love to go surf on the North shore of Oahu with a teacher.

In general, where’s been your favorite place to go to in Hawaii? BB: Probably Maui because they’ve got way more beaches than most islands, and they’re all very different. Primarily I like going with friends or family, that’s what makes it fun. TOP: Barbara Beecroft, What is one thing that you have to do Tami Beecroft, every time you go to Hawaii? Nicole Bowman BB: You’ve got to get in the water BOTTOM: Cathleen immediately. So whether it’s boogie Beecroft, Robert boards, snorkeling, surfing, swimming, Beecroft, Tami Bowman, you’ve got to be on the beach. Brian Bowman

16 17 HAWAIIAN RENAISSANCE BY JOHN LANCASTER

the islands where In surfing began, the waves on that particular day were a disappointment— mushy, chest high, and annoyingly infrequent. Still, Hawaiians have never needed much of an excuse to grab a board and hit the ocean, and the takeoff zone was packed. Teens on shortboards. Moms on longboards. Grade-schoolers on bodyboards. A guy with a gray ponytail on a stand- up paddleboard. Some had tribal tattoos in the style of Polynesian warriors. Straddling my surfboard in the deep water beside the reef, I surveyed the crowd with a knot in my stomach, feeling that I didn’t belong. Makaha has long been known as a beach where 18 19

haoles, a Hawaiian term for white people the sport since roughly the time of and other outsiders, venture at their peril. the Crusades. They are also, in some Located on Oahu’s west coast, far from sense, survivors. Since the coming the glitzy North Shore crowds of Sunset of the first white men in the late Beach or Pipeline or the package tourists 18th century, their history has been at Waikiki Beach, it has a reputation as a colored by loss—first of numbers, as tightly cloistered community dominated imported diseases burned through by descendants of the ancient Polynesian their ranks, then of land, nationhood, seafarers who settled the islands. and culture. Even hula dancing all Even those Makaha residents who have but vanished. For Hawaiians—an come to terms with the United States increasingly imprecise term after takeover of Hawaii in 1898—and some waves of immigration to the islands still have not—are determined to prevent and generations of intermarriage— the same thing from happening to their surfing is a tangible link to the waves. Stories are legion of visiting surfers precolonial past and a last remaining being chased from the water here, a few shard of cultural identity. It’s also with broken noses, after breaching some a testament to Hawaiians’ almost unwritten rule. I was eager to avoid the mystical connection to the ocean. No same fate. wonder they can get a little prickly about their waves. On the “We got nice people here, but if subject of For half an hour I floated you treat them bad, they’ll treat you Makaha and near the takeoff zone, bad.” It wasn’t a threat, just a simple its customs, statement of fact. The man who there is no waiting for my chance, uttered it was sitting on a tree limb higher authority that had washed up on the beach. than Richard Though well past retirement age, he “Buffalo” looked like someone you didn’t want Keaulana, a rare before I finally spotted what appeared to to cross, a thick-chested guy in board full-blooded be an unclaimed wave. I spun my board shorts, sunglasses, and a black sun Hawaiian who toward the beach and paddled hard. visor. His hair was a luxuriant white, has spent most But just as I gained speed, a stone-faced and the slablike planes of his face of his 80 years teenager on a bodyboard finned up the evoked the ancient Hawaiian alii, or on Oahu’s same wave. He planted his hand firmly chiefs, he counts among his forebears. West Side. His on my shoulder and pushed me off the standing in the wave, simultaneously propelling himself community is closely linked to the down its face. I gave up and paddled in. So ocean. Keaulana was a preternaturally much for “aloha,” I thought. “The guys, if they tell you they’re gifted surfer as well as Makaha’s first But over several weeks in Makaha full-time lifeguard and the founder I came to grasp that what looked like going to do something to you, they of a well-known surfing competition thuggish protectionism was in fact more called the Buffalo Big Board Surfing complicated. Hawaiians, after all, are the will do something to you,” he said. Classic. He remains the most original surfing fanatics, having embraced “Just remember where you’re at.” prominent of Makaha’s famous 21

“uncles”—the mostly Hawaiian elders who serve as guardians of the community—and is revered throughout the islands as the apotheosis of the “waterman,” an aquatic all-rounder who combines reverence for the ocean with deep knowledge, skill, and courage. “Last of the traditionalists,” one admirer told me. Hawaiians of Keaulana’s generation. He spent his The waterman ethos dates childhood in poverty, much of it on state-provided to the first Hawaiians, who are “homestead” land—Hawaii’s version of an Indian believed to have sailed to the reservation—in the West Side community of Nanakuli. islands in double-hulled canoes and commoners of both genders on for surfing in the nude. Far more The native language had been purged from public from the Marquesas around A.D. most of Hawaii’s eight major islands. harmful to surfing, as to Hawaiian schools in favor of English, though in practice the locals 700, followed by similar mariners There were surfing temples, surfing society itself, was the arrival of spoke pidgin, an English-based creole still common in from Tahiti five centuries later. deities, surfing contests with crowds of European diseases such as smallpox. the area. These settlers probably brought onlookers gambling on the outcome. By the time Congress formally Keaulana ran away from home at the age of ten, after with them some familiarity with The royals rode massive olo boards annexed Hawaii in 1898, the native his abusive stepfather chased him into a taro plot with a surfing, at least in rudimentary hewed from the wood of the wiliwili population had fallen to about 40,000 knife. He bounced among relatives and friends, dropped form, but only in their new or the koa tree, while their subjects from as many as 800,000 at the time out of school after the eighth grade, and endured periods homeland did the sport become typically surfed on shorter, thinner of Cook’s landing. of homelessness, sleeping in cardboard boxes and stealing an important part of the alaia boards. A new swell could empty The bitter legacy of colonization chickens to survive. culture, embraced by chiefs a village for days. left an indelible stamp on The ocean proved his salvation—“a place to get away,” New England missionaries, who he called it. A powerful swimmer, he learned to fish with a followed the 1778 landing of British speargun made from a sharpened coat hanger and a length explorer James Cook, often have of rubber tubing. As a teenager, he worked as a diver, been blamed for putting a damper The ocean provided unsnagging the nets of Filipino fishing sampans from coral on the sport the natives called he‘e his salvation. reefs. Then he discovered surfing. nalu. Their principal objection, it Of course Keaulana wasn’t entirely unfamiliar with seems, was to the locals’ preference the sport that had so obsessed his ancestors. Since 22 23 the turn of the century Hawaiian beachboys had been teaching tourists how to surf on the gentle breakers of Waikiki, and during Keaulana’s childhood a few Hawaiians could still be found riding V-bottom redwood boards on a break near Nanakuli. He learned to surf on a crude surfboard made from glued-together railroad ties. But he didn’t truly embrace the sport until he fell in with a handful of pioneering haole surfers, some from California, who arrived at Makaha in the early 1950s. children in an apartment above a public bathhouse on the beach. Eventually Keaulana was able to build a house, after he rescued a wealthy Texan who was knocked Makaha became a laboratory senseless while surfing in big waves. for new surfing techniques The man gave Keaulana $30,000 as an expression of gratitude. and board designs as well as Keaulana’s renowned waterman skills earned him a prominent the setting for what was billed role in the Hawaiian cultural and political awakening that came to as the first international be known as the Second Hawaiian surfing contest, in 1954. Renaissance. In 1977 he kicked off his eponymous surfing contest, whose party atmosphere and multiple events—canoe surfing, tandem surfing, longboarding—recall the ancient Makahiki festival held The newcomers rode lightweight boards made from in honor of the Hawaiian god Lono. fiberglass and balsa wood (soon replaced with polystyrene Keaulana’s chieflike status was foam) and outfitted with fins so they could be turned easily. enhanced by his burly physique and, Keaulana joined the party and soon emerged as one of the when necessary, “a look that chills best surfers of his generation, with a fluid, ambidextrous your bones,” in the words of his style that he would later showcase in surfing movies and eldest son, Brian, who added, “Every contests as far away as Peru. local kid knows that look.” After stints in the Army and as a beachboy at Waikiki, At the same time, “Uncle Buff” was Keaulana returned to Makaha in 1960 with a wife and a nothing if not pragmatic, as he showed job as parkkeeper and then lifeguard, bringing up four in the running of his contest. 24 25

I first appeared with my notebook Paishon poked his head through the opening and joined and questions. I later asked the same me in my car. A lifeguard who had man if he worried about the influx of Born on the West Side in 1993, Paishon had a painfully been watching wagged nonlocals competing for waves, and thin build and a crest of floppy, sun-bleached hair that he he assured me that he didn’t. “We calls a “frohawk.” I asked whether he wanted breakfast. his head and observed, regulate that to death, brah.” He declined, explaining that he had eaten well the night The communities collectively known before. He told me that his mother had been panhandling “You shouldn’t judge as the West Side are situated along at the Waianae Mall, where someone had bought her a Oahu’s Farrington Highway, which bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken that she brought home a fish by his ability to begins west of Pearl Harbor and passes to her family. “She met the right person,” Paishon said. climb a tree.” through Makaha before terminating “She got blessed.” near the island’s northwestern tip, We drove north to Makaha, stopping briefly so that called Kaena Point. Running along Paishon could retrieve his surfboard of the moment—a the base of the Waianae Range, it’s sorry-looking thing with a busted-off nose—from the It seemed like a cryptic statement, a rain-starved coastal strip that’s one bushes where he’d stashed it the day before. We continued but to anyone who knew Paishon and of the oldest settled parts of Oahu. in the same direction and a few minutes later parked along his history, it made perfect sense: Few Here and there are ruins of stone the beach at Yokohama Bay. surfers on the West Side have shown temples and fishponds, along with “Yokes” is considered the heaviest break on the West Side, as much talent in the water while more contemporary echoes of Hawaii’s and on this morning it was easy to see why. Thick, powerful struggling against such long odds Tourists who drove up from Honolulu past: roadside stands selling poke (raw waves unfurled across a shallow reef. But Paishon didn’t on land. There are obvious parallels often returned to their rental cars to fish) and laulaus (pork wrapped in hesitate before joining the dozen or so surfers already in the between Paishon’s story and Buffalo find windows smashed and wallets taro leaves), outrigger canoes hauled water, and within moments he was dominating the field. Keaulana’s. Both were raised amid missing. “That’s the stupid thing up on the beach at Pokai Bay. But for Effortless, devil-may-care takeoffs, casual tube rides, soaring poverty and homelessness, and both they do. They bring a lot of money,” the most part this is not the Hawaii aerial maneuvers—he surfed with a grace and audacity I had found their calling in the ocean. Keaulana said. So he identified the of tourist brochures. In the main rarely seen outside of pro-surfing videos. After half an hour, But while Keaulana parlayed his locals responsible for the break- town of Waianae the highway is lined he snapped his board in half and swam back to the beach, waterman’s talents into fame and ins—“all the thieves and make-trouble with fast-food outlets, pawnshops, and holding a piece of it in one hand. a comfortable living, Paishon guys”—and hired them as security scruffy shopping plazas. Homeless guards. The thefts mostly stopped. people camp in a thicket near the boat In recent years resorts have basin. I went to Waianae to meet one begun spreading up the West Side, of Keaulana’s “make-trouble guys,” a and vacation homes have sprouted surfing prodigy with a troubled past amid the modest plantation-style named Sheldon Paishon. houses that cluster on either end I turned in to a neighborhood of of Makaha’s golden beach. But in ramshackle houses, one of which had other ways little has changed. At a a bedsheet hanging in the front door. beachside picnic table in the shade of a milo tree, Keaulana and his fellow uncles while away the hours “talking story” or playing dominoes, and outsiders are received warily, at least at first. “You got any ID?” one of the uncles demanded when 26 27

caught the eye of the uncles. They supported him with more surfboards (Paishon’s aggressive style means that he breaks them on a regular basis) as well as food, clothing, and advice—a modern twist on Hawaii’s ancient magazines in class. He dropped out hānai system, in which entirely during his second attempt at families informally completing the ninth grade. adopted the children of People who knew Paishon were friends or relatives and sympathetic to his plight, but there raised them as their was only so much they could do. own. “We his real family A couple whose son competed over here,” one of the with Paishon on the junior circuit uncles told me. offered to take him into their home struggles to find his place in the world, dreaming of a and the high,” Don told me.) By the time and pay his way to surfing contests career in pro surfing but with no obvious path to get there. For their child it was sheer misery, Paishon was in his early teens, he in California and elsewhere, but You had to worry about his future. an extended camping trip from hell. was a regular on Oahu’s highly Paishon’s mother declined to sign Like many on the West Side, Paishon has an ambiguous “Horrible, stinky, rainy, cold, scary,” competitive junior surfing circuit. a power of attorney form. “Maybe it ethnic heritage. His mother, Sharon, is a haole from New Paishon recalled. “Big centipedes His rivals turned up at events with would have been better,” Paishon told Jersey. His pidgin-speaking father, Don, is descended crawling in your tent. Sand all over their parents, equipped with beach me. “I would be a world champion by from Portuguese immigrants who came to the islands your bed. It’s not what people think.” canopies, video cameras, coolers, and now, probably.” more than a century ago—along with Chinese, Japanese, A bucket served as the toilet, and a surfboards plastered with logos from Some wounds were self-inflicted. and Filipinos—to work on sugarcane plantations. The line typical dinner was pork and beans sponsors. Paishon had no sponsors Paishon admits he ran with the between native and non-native has long since blurred, and heated over an open fire. and was lucky if his mom showed up wrong crowd and smoked pakalolo— Don Paishon assumes that he and his son carry traces with a beach towel. But that didn’t marijuana—sometimes paying for the of Hawaiian blood, though he cannot say for sure. Even stop him from winning, sometimes drug by selling one of the surfboards so, when I asked Sheldon whether he considers himself against kids who have gone on to he had been given. Benefactors Hawaiian, he nodded emphatically. “In here,” he said, Like Keaulana before lucrative professional careers. At 15, began to lose patience. “I slapped tapping himself on the chest. “In the heart.” he was featured in Surfing magazine. his head,” one of the uncles told But as Paishon takes pride in his Hawaiian identity, him, Paishon found It was a different story at school, me. “I told him, ‘You’re wasted he faces many of the challenges that afflict the native where Paishon struggled with basic talent, another wasted talent on the population—especially on the West Side, one of the state’s solace in the ocean, math and reading and was mocked Waianae side, another lost soul.’ ” most disadvantaged communities. by his classmates for his mildewed The biggest setback came when When he was 12, his unemployed parents could no clothes. “Everyone would tease me Paishon was accused of stealing longer afford their apartment. For the next several years, because they knew I was homeless,” $1,200 from the girlfriend of a the family lived in a tent just north of Makaha in what graduating from a bodyboard to a he said. “They called me the slum-dog contest organizer. Paishon was never was then one of Hawaii’s largest homeless encampments. succession of borrowed or discarded surfer.” He began skipping school to charged, but his reputation was Sharon struggled with depression, and Don smoked “ice,” surfboards. He was a natural at the surf. When he did show up, teachers damaged. Potential sponsors turned the popular name for methamphetamine. (“I like the rev sport, and it wasn’t long before he yelled at him for reading surfing away. “They think, He’s a 28 29 punk, he’s from Waianae,” Paishon said bitterly. One late-spring night I drove with him past Waianae High School, where the commencement ceremony for the class of 2013—Paishon’s class, had he stayed in school—had just concluded. Paishon watched silently as joyful graduates spilled into the street with their parents and siblings. Several minutes passed. Finally he said, “I wish I would have graduated.” Six months later I learned that Paishon had found a job. A friend had hired him to clean cars for eight dollars an hour. “Everyone is looking at me different now because I’m working,” he told me. “It’s my step forward.” He said he planned to use his earnings to finance a surfing trip to Indonesia and then return to Hawaii for a new round of contests that he hoped would win the attention of sponsors. “I didn’t know what I wanted before,” he said. “Now I know. Be a pro surfer. That’s my dream.” After my initial surfing misadventure at Makaha, I went to see Bruce DeSoto, a member of one of Makaha’s most prominent families. I asked him for advice on avoiding any further unpleasantness in the water. He leaned back in his armchair and replied, “When somebody new comes in the lineup, we expect them to introduce themselves and say hi, at least.” He continued, “The bottom line is respect. You respect, you’re welcome, then you come surf our place anytime you want. But if you don’t respect, then you got a problem.” A few days later I got a chance to put his advice into practice. A fresh swell had rolled in, and the waves were bigger than I’d seen them. I paddled out and struck up a conversation with a stocky Hawaiian in his early 40s. It turned out he was a lifeguard in Makaha who shaped surfboards on the side. Bobbing on one of his own creations, he told me proudly about his three kids and their plans to compete in a weekend surfing contest in Honolulu. Then we both spotted a peak. I looked at him. Mine? His nod was subtle to the point of telepathy.

I paddled hard and dropped in on the wave, a glorious, eight-foot wall of cobalt blue that carried me past the reef.

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DOES “God, I wish it was a little more LOCALISM localized out there.”

was kind of a weird thing to say, negativity. Everyone is perpetually “WORK”? Itbut I knew what he meant. My surfing on eggshells, even the inner BY ROB GILLEY younger friend had just experienced crew. Any perceived slight—let alone a particularly anarchic session at a a misbehaving interloper—can ruffle nearby reef break, and was lamenting feathers, wake the beast, and turn the the lack of a regulated lineup. euphoria of good waves into stifling “Be careful what you wish for” revulsion. No matter where you sit, is the cliché I should have came it’s impossible to stay unaffected by back with, but instead I just let his verbal or physical confrontation. statement hang out there in the wind. To me it’s this underlying tension— Explaining to my frustrated friend this dark undercurrent—that runs why he probably shouldn’t be pining counter to the very attraction of for more territorial waters would have surfing itself. The principle reason been a difficult and complex task. we base our lives around riding waves From 30 years of observing guarded is for the rapture, and this kind of lineups across the globe, the first euphoria has a hard time thriving thing I should have told him is in a negative ion vacuum. From my that localism is an inexact science. perspective, it’s the collective pleasure Regardless of how close you live to a of sharing an insane day of surf with spot, or how many years you’ve put in, a group of like-minded individuals or how well you follow the unspoken that ultimately produces the catharsis. rules, or how good of a surfer you Which is why I think any claims are, you are still subject to the whims about localism “working” need and moods of the presiding alpha further evaluation. Saying localism males—often hair-trigger snap-cases works is like saying tyranny works— that hand out arbitrary verbal or sure, it’s a more ordered society, but physical punishment at a moment’s at what cost? notice. There are never any ironclad guarantees of pecking order, etiquette, or safety. It’s frontier justice, in the loosest way. More to the point, though, is that heavily localized spots—almost without exception—carry a pall of

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HOW TO of all, don’t paddle out to a localized spot. If you’re too hard- Firstheaded or frothy not to, be certain that you can surf the place better than the bottom third of the surfers out there. And even if this is the case, paddle out alone. If you’re with a friend, stagger your sessions. Once in PADDLE OUT the lineup, pick off the insiders or waves no one wants. Take medium or set waves when no else is able, or if you find yourself in the prime position and TO A LOCALIZED SPOT to do otherwise would single you out as unworthy. Repeat these steps enough times, and you might not always be so unlocal. BY KIMBALL TAYLOR

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TOP 10 is the most Hawaii geographically SURF SPOTS isolated landmass on the planet, and for some that means only one IN HAWAII thing: groundswell. Everywhere, in every direction, the BY SPENCER KLEIN currents of the Pacific are churning up the winds, storms, and fetch that ultimately source these islands with their world class waves. Below is a list of the best places to get wet if you have never been to Hawaii. To be sure, there are far better waves than those listed below, but they are unlistable for various reasons. Take Kauai, for instance; there is nothing more to hide – the world already knows what waves exist, just look at a map, but why then is any photo of Kauai’s best wave still flipped, and never named, when it’s printed in any surf mag? Because respect is a crucial element of the Hawaiian surfing experience; and with reason – the island juice is no myth; ocean conditions here are worlds away from your local beach break. But still, come surf, it’s Hawaii, the Duke would have wanted you to. For the full rundown of breaks, grab “Frank’s Map” at any surf shop. In no particular order… 42 43

EHUKAI BEACH PARK (NORTH SHORE, OAHU) Straight out from the parking lot of the same name, are several shifting peaks that work on everything from a west to a windswell wrap from the east. Sandy bottom is scattered with random fingers of rock. Generally a good place to come if you are beyond a beginner, but still getting used to things. Great place to get the feel of Oahu’s North Shore. Pipeline is immediately to the left, and when it’s big enough, it essentially swallows all the peaks of the beach park. Come here to watch Pipe or sight Tom Curren; across from Sunset Beach Elementary.

LANIAKEA (NORTH SHORE, OAHU) On a big north, Lani’s is a freight BACKYARDS SUNSET train right that can connect for an (NORTH SHORE, OAHU) (NORTH SHORE, OAHU) extremely long, fast ride, with four The first time I surfed ‘Yards it Sunset is one of the most fabled or five makeable sections. Deep went from a playful head high to a right hand points there is, and thus water wave, but still barrels with widow-making triple-overhead in 40 attracts many a soul the world over. the right conditions. Very consistent minutes, and I had to paddle out and In that sense, you can surf it without with any swell that has a bit of around the entire point in a heap of worry (crowd-wise) if you let your north in it; doesn’t work at all on anxiety to get in, so take note. hyper-paddling habits subside. Surely pure west swells. Very fast, advanced wave with a not a wave to be taken lightly though, Good place if you’re looking to steep wall, thick lip, and shallow reef even at a playful three feet Hawaiian. blend in – the “town” crowd from below. Good barrels. Swell magnet The wave turns very fast and hollow Honolulu loves this wave, and thus from all directions, but works best as it emerges and walls up quick from there are always different faces on a NW swell. Can get very, very deep water; famous inside bowl throws in the water. There is a shorter, big, and often has less of a crowd way out for a good, heavy barrel. hollow left as well, that can be than other spots. Further out on the You need some length and very fun. Seen in the big opening point from Sunset. Access from the paddling strength in your board here; along Kam Hwy as you head east shallows at the tip of the point. very thick wave and can be difficult from Hale’iwa. Caution: parking lot Caution: reef, clean up sets. to get into. Prepare yourself to thieves run amuck. 44 45

get washed and bashed around on HONOLUA a serious North Shore experience. CANOES the reef when you see that rogue (NORTH SHORE, MAUI) Respect here (for everything) is vital. (SOUTH SHORE, OAHU) set swing wide from the west; you’ll Honolua is one of the magical This marks the end of the “seven This is the jumping off point for the Waikiki surf certainly be caught inside. waves of the world, a flawless right mile miracle,” the opposite end being adventure, and the rest of the south shore as well. Every Caution: shallow reef, heavy lip, point that seems to peel into infinity Haleiwa’s Ali’i Beach Park. Park surfer must come at least once, and there are few waves clean-up sets. – when you happen to catch one. along Kam Hwy, and walk through as friendly to teach your new ladyfriend. While generally The crowd here is dense, but the the gate at Sunset Beach Colony. a friendly wave, this whole shore turns on several times HOOKIPA joy of one ride makes it all worth it, Paddle out from directly in front a summer, firing off exceptional waves. Those roadbumps (PAIA, MAUI) especially that crisp barrel through of the peak. The wide open barrel beneath your board are not coral heads – they’re either Between Haiku and Paia is Maui’s the cave section. is unreal, but caution: sharp reef, the innocently ignorant Japanese tourists, or the equally most consistent wave, or waves, and Somewhat sheltered from the shallow, crowd factor, locals. benign, pasty-white Oklahomans. it happens to double as one of the islands to the north, the swell window On the south shore you can surf fifteen different spots best windsurfing spots in the world. here is smaller than most other spots, HANALEI in a single session, so paddle around and explore – that’s All the various peaks can be seen and thus it works much less often; (NORTH SHORE, KAUAI) what the Duke did. Straight out, fittingly, from the Duke from the bluff along the Hana Hwy best on a big NNW swell. The trades This is maybe the only wave Kahanamoku statue in Waikiki. For more juice on this side heading east from Paia. The most that plague most of the rest of Maui, on Kauai that you are allowed to of the island, seek Bowls, Kaisers, or the wave in between hierarchical spot is Pavillions, the work fine here, to make a consistent mention in a public arena. Lucky for the two, aptly named Inbetweens. Looking out towards right that comes off the far east point; side-offshore breeze. Again, when us, it’s a great wave, a peeling right Diamond Head, imagine the Hawaiian legend of the wave otherwise, there is much range of you connect one, the wave is simply point that works on most winter the Duke caught way out on the point and connected all skill found in the lineups of the other magical. swell directions. Good fun when it’s the way to the sand, right where you get your favorite mai- peaks; still, keep respect. Park on the bluff above, follow smaller to grab a longboard and go tai – the restaurant by the name of Duke’s. Catches everything from the big someone out. make friends in the lineup – then WNW’s to the easterly windswells. you might find out about those other Very exposed to the wind, so get up VELZYLAND waves around the way. The bay here early before the wind does, and then (NORTH SHORE, OAHU) is pristine, and so is the town by hit it again late in the afternoon; Everything considered, VLand is the same name. On the far north with Kona winds, you score! Park in probably the most risky inclusion on east side of the point, towards the the parking lot below the bluff, and this list. Shallow, extra sharp reef, a Princeville. Can get very big, and follow someone else into the water heavily localized pack, and a barrel very good. (and out). that seems to suck dry, make for 46 47

Conclusion

THANKS!

Thank you for taking the time to read through some of the articles I compiled on Hawaiian surf culture. I hope they’ve been insightful, and that you are now more intrigued than ever to look into this particular subculture yourself! Or at least I hope this gives you the excuse you’ve been looking for to go to Hawaii and experience the culture for yourself!

“I really don't know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, We are tied to the ocean. except I think it's because in addition And when we go back to the to the fact that the sea changes, and the light changes, and ships change, sea - whether it is to sail or to it's because we all came from the sea. And it is an interesting biological fact watch it - we are going back that all of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our from whence we came.” blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. – John F. Kennedy

SOURCES

Gilley, Rob. “Does Localism “Work”?” SURFER Magazine. N.p., 23 Oct. 2014. Web. Klein, Spencer. “Top 10 Surf Spots (For Mortals) in Hawaii.” Matador Network. N.p., 9 Apr. 2016. Web. Lancaster, John. “Hawaiian Renaissance: Pure Hawaiian.” National Geographic. N.p., Feb. 2015. Web. Taylor, Kimball. “How to Paddle Out to a Localized Spot.” SURFER Magazine. N.p., 31 Mar. 2011. Web.