wow shark country! these photos are a treasure bradda! pure gold! damn i miss those days! ewa beach is a mess! especially in the front shark country down thru hau bush. thanks for sharing those! by chance does anyone have any pics of shark country firing? like on a big day? i realize its pretty hard to photograph that place when its big becausew it breaks so far out.
~~~Aloha!
Sorry, no pics of SC when it was good, or when it was big. I never had a camera with a long enough lens when we were younger. The best spot to shoot SC from is between the old Haubush park and where the del monte park was. You get a great angle from there, but you need a really long lens.
I hope someone else may have some and posts them here.
I moved to a house on the north shore back in mid 70's, and lived with Surfer photographer Jeff Divine for a while. There was a south swell, and Jeff asked if he could come surf Ewa Beach with me. He knew Ewa Beach had waves and some good surfers came out of there, but none of the California guys would go near "Neva-go-Ewa" Beach. But sense it was my territory, and I told him no worries, he felt okay to check it out. I brought him to Shark Country, and he had camera gear in car, but the break was too far out to get good shots, and it was blowing on shore by the time we got there, so waves not very good and no photos. But we did paddle out and surf for a while. I know Jake Gaynor was out. Maybe Mikey, Kimo Kauihou, Ron Ariole, who else? I don't remember. He was a bit of a celeb for us Ewa Beach-ers. Everyone was stoked to meet him, and he was a real mellow guy, so it was cool. When we got back to NS, he told friends how super cool the Ewa Beach guys were that he met.
I would have to say that learning to surf in the Ewa mainly onshore wind arena is one of the reasons I was able to do so well in contests, Like Corky Carroll said in his book, Surf Dog Day and bitchin nights, “I went to the contest venue a few day ahead of time and only surfed in the after noons during the onshore conditions, everyone looks good when it’s clean and offshore”.
There were so many times during flat spells elsewhere that I prayed for a sloppy little wave like Ewa, it always came through, maybe not pretty but something to ride
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I would have to say that learning to surf in the Ewa mainly onshore wind arena is one of the reasons I was able to do so well in contests,, Like Corky Carroll said in his book, Surf Dog Day and bitchin nights, "I went to the contest venue a few day ahead of time and only surfed in the after noons during the onshore conditions, everyone looks good when it's clean and offshore".
There were so many times during flat spells elsewhere that I prayed for a sloppy little wave like Ewa, it always came through, maybe not pretty but something to ride
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hmmmmn... ya sounds good. i hear alot of guys saying that going back to shawn sutton. till you look at current hawaiians on tour, id say most are from north shore. not sure what quizon, shibata, cemteio are up to these days? 15 years ago being raised on sloppy small waves would be a competetive advantage. but nowadays dream tour with events held at teahupou, uluwatu,supertubes, mundaka to name a few and a shift in judging criterion away from the "3 to the beach" mindset its a different ballgame.
but then again..... as i speak the asp is finalizing preparations to add ocean beach sf, and rockaway beach nyc to the tour.and the brazilian contest was moved back to lame ass rio. all 3 crappy waves, well 2 for sure. a trend? back to the future? news at 10:00 manolo... news at 10:00...
~~~Aloha!
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"yeah, well sometimes nothing can be a real cool hand."
Like any south shore spot on Oahu, when the waves are big there’s plenty of juice. So we had the mix of side shore/onshore winds during the day, but clean mornings and sometimes clean evenings.
Shark Country doesn’t get good until town is closed out. There was a guy who was from Ewa town that I’d only see when Shark Country was good. He said he usually surfed in town, but town closes out after the wave hit about 10 feet. That’s about when Shark Country starts to shine. Just have to hope that the wind cooperates. Luckily, there’s a good handful of breaks going off by then, so the locals all have their preference for SC, Sandtracks, Coves, Tree Stumps, and on. Now with tow surfing and SUPs the outer reefs are being tapped more than ever.
When there’s a solid 10’ south, the outer reefs can be awesome. Just have to be on the lookout for the really big fish.
whoo... its been awhile.... i guess summer of 2009 may have hit that 10' mark or at least flirted with it a few times! easily the best, most consistently big summer in my memory.
conversely, i figure last summer was probably the worst summer on record for us guys out here. the town guys had alot of 2' days to keep them smiling. and cheast high bowls or kaisers will definately put a smile on anyones face.but not one big swell to properly light up ewa beach.. hope we not looking at a repeat? i came spoiled this past winter, surfing good waves every day. now its the jonesing withdrawals.
aloha and thank you for letting me share in your memories!
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"Everything’s okay until it isn’t."
That would be 10’ on the face. Not local style 10’, town doesn’t get 10’ local style often enough. 6-8, but not 10’.
There were a few days at Diamond head where the waves were pretty big last summer, but I think Diamond head has bigger waves than any other south shore break. We were surfing way down on the mansions side, and getting long rides.
Courts will close out if the faces hit 15’, that’s about when courts and big lefts merge into a single left that breaks between the 2 spots. From Big Lefts to Bomburas is one big closeout. Been out a few times when that happened, and it’s weird paddling back out. All the normal line up markers don’t work. Just before it hits that size, it breaks between Courts and Big Lefts then it backs off and there’s a mean right barrel.
When the big south swells hit Shark Country the right from Sandtracks and the left from SC will meet and close out where the old haubush park is. If you score either one, you’ll have an unreal ride. That’s an epic day. At the right tide, Johns can have a really good right that breaks quite a bit further out and down from the regular spot, and sometimes the left coming off that wave runs through coves.
I think Iwa and Iniki may have pushed the bottom around too much because the wave has not been the same since they hit.
I too have been spoiled by the smooth clear water in town and the nearly perfect waves that break in the same spot every time. As long as it’s head high it’s going to be a lot of fun anywhere between the park and Tonggs.
yup ive caught shark country like that many times! and by the time you get to chicken creek your legs are burning! best time ever was the very first time i surfed it back in 1987.
summer of 2009 there were a few days that flirted with the 10' range or close.that video i sent you of campbells on aug. 1st was easily 8' on the sets so bowls had to be 10'!
damn bradda SC... you got me all hyped talking about bomburas washing thru and sets closing out the beach park! i can see it... the sun bright, water cobalt blue.... the sweet smell of shoyu/sugar soaked meats cooking on a hibachi waft out on the gentle offshores.
something magic about that side during summer..... cant throw a stick without hittin a beautiful girl.....
Wax’em up boys, you should star seeing some big stuff by tomorrow, the Pitcairn Island southern hemi is due to hit here in 2 days
Jim, our report is only showing 4 or 5 feet. So it’ll probably be solid overhead in town but not so big in Ewa. We had a decent swell this past weekend, but I only got to surf on Sunday. They said Saturday was bigger and better.
I think we’ve been having head high plus for the last month, but I was out of it for a few weeks.
Next time you get out here give us a shout and maybe we can talk story. I saw one of your boards at a shop in Waikiki, forgot the name of the shop, but the owners are Japanese. It’s right inside of Number 3s. Also, been seeing Barry Morrison out at Diamond Head lately, but he seems to like riding Brewers.
Keith is coming in August and we’ll be getting together on Sat. Aug 13. It’ll probably be at white plains (Officer’s Beach) but if SC is good then may be worth it to move over to that side.
I’ve been so jonesing to get to O’ahu, my ususal suspect pals DIDN’T get their house on the North Shore this year, they were too worried it would be the La Nina rainy season.
But…, my retired postman, New Joisey distributor and his retired pal have a house in EWA BEACH !!! you know what that means !!! dat haole buggah gon be tol beat it again, ah brah, no be li dat, all good, you go, I go da uddah way, comming down
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I've been so jonesing to get to O'ahu, my ususal suspect pals DIDN'T get their house on the North Shore this year, they were too worried it would be the La Nina rainy season.
But.................................., my retired postman, New Joisey distributor and his retired pal have a house in EWA BEACH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! you know what that means !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! dat haole buggah gon be tol beat it again, ah brah, no be li dat, all good, you go, I go da uddah way, comming down
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jim, nobodys gonna bother you. were not a bunch of thugs and hooligans here. i mean, no matter where you go if youre an idiot and youre in the way. or youre a greedy big mouth then of course your gonna get hassles whether its at flagpoles or oxnard by the sea or sebastian inlet. but if u ever need a helping hand in that regard you let me know. i can PM you my # if u like. anyway you seem cool so mute point.
la nina has been good to us weather wise. lots of rain lately. very unusual for this time of year but welcome on an island that is dealing with drought seemingly in perpetuity.
Ahui'hooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooouuuuuu!!!!!!
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"everythings ok until it isnt."
Hi Jim, it would be cool to see you if you make it this way. One thing you should know… Ewa Beach is not what it once was. Some people consider the area from the ocean all the way past Ewa Town up to Farrington Hwy as Ewa Beach.
For sure the new residents living any where from the old Ewa Beach up to and a bit past Ewa Town call the whole area Ewa Beach. If you said Ewa when I was growing up that meant Ewa Town and the sugar workers. Ewa Beach was the area next to the ocean. Honouliuli was the area between Waipahu and Ewa Town.
There were always lots of military families and other Haole families in Ewa Beach, so I don’t think there was a race problem back then. But there was a haole military kid who lived down my street who used to call me and my brother and sister “Jap” every time we’d pass by. One day I got into a fight with him and after that he never called me names again. I think that 90 percent of the people living in Ewa Beach had a connection to the military as either a civilian worker, a GI, or a retiree.
When were kids the beach area down past the 2 parks was kinda scary and not some place you’d go after dark. My uncle was a hunter and he would bust out his hunting rifle when strange people wandered down there after dark. By the time I got to 5th grade, we’d wander down there at night but always along the ocean. We’d make bon fires in the old pill boxes that lined the beach. There were a few times when we hid in the bushes because we heard people coming and didn’t know who they were.
I think we were very lucky because of the beach houses there and the gathering of several families every weekend. It was a safe place for us with our little private beach. I think that’s probably true for just about everywhere in the 60’s. This world ain’t the same.
When I was a kid, Kazu’s grandparents lived only a block from the mill, Hau bushes actually grew at the high tide line, I took my Son Ian to Hau Bush, he body whopped in the shore break while I surfed the 2-3 foot onshore waves.
I had forgotten my leash at the house on the N-shore, I realized that I had swum hundreds of times from the outer reefs to the sand before, then it was, if I lose my board I deserve to swim. My younger sister swam for Radford and the Hickam swim teams, she set a Hawaiian and US record, got a 2nd in the junior Olympics and competed against Donna DeVerona.
I met an older guy at Hau Bush, Keone I believe, had a Town&Country longboard, nice 5 piece t-band that Greg Griffin had shaped, after I left the water, the tide started to drop and it got a lot better.
I went out there in '83-'84, I was sooooooooo bummed out, it was a for real dump at that time, I didn’t hang around.
I have tried hard to explain to my son how much Hawaii and it’s people influenced my life and the respect I have for the Islands, I took him to the Waimea Hei’au, we spent the afternoon cleaning the McDonalds wrappers out of the rocks and picking up beer bottles.
I’ll never be Kama’aina, but have the heart of one
I’ve got 2 stand ups nearly finished for Kaion shop in Wakiki, that’ll be my money stash for getting back to my little grass shack
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Hi Jim, it would be cool to see you if you make it this way. One thing you should know... Ewa Beach is not what it once was. Some people consider the area from the ocean all the way past Ewa Town up to Farrington Hwy as Ewa Beach.
For sure the new residents living any where from the old Ewa Beach up to and a bit past Ewa Town call the whole area Ewa Beach. If you said Ewa when I was growing up that meant Ewa Town and the sugar workers. Ewa Beach was the area next to the ocean. Honouliuli was the area between Waipahu and Ewa Town.
There were always lots of military families and other Haole families in Ewa Beach, so I don't think there was a race problem back then. But there was a haole military kid who lived down my street who used to call me and my brother and sister "Jap" every time we'd pass by. One day I got into a fight with him and after that he never called me names again. I think that 90 percent of the people living in Ewa Beach had a connection to the military as either a civilian worker, a GI, or a retiree.
When were kids the beach area down past the 2 parks was kinda scary and not some place you'd go after dark. My uncle was a hunter and he would bust out his hunting rifle when strange people wandered down there after dark. By the time I got to 5th grade, we'd wander down there at night but always along the ocean. We'd make bon fires in the old pill boxes that lined the beach. There were a few times when we hid in the bushes because we heard people coming and didn't know who they were.
I think we were very lucky because of the beach houses there and the gathering of several families every weekend. It was a safe place for us with our little private beach. I think that's probably true for just about everywhere in the 60's. This world ain't the same.
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aloha SharkCountry!. have you ever considered writing a book about ewa beach in the 60's and beyond? much like this thread, you know. who were the characters... the fresh water ponds... all the fish and lobster... the surf.... you could collaborate with others. id say interest in such a book is strong here. include lots of historical photos... maybe some side by side "then and now" type photos. i know id read it! youre a really good writer and a natural story teller. and nowadays you can self publish very very cheaply and print copies literally as you need them. anyways just a thought ive had since reading this thread. alot of good stuff from a bunch of you guys.
oh btw, are you related to Sam Alama from makakilo? paddles i think a one man canoe... surfs makaha some times. has sons a little younger than me. vince and.... chee i forget the other sons name.
Aloha Jim
if you are ever out in these parts again
you should try and get a hold of Charlie Price/CMP/Surfgear Hawaii beforehand
he lives next to Ewa Beach Park at the very end of Ft Weaver
I think you'll find him and what he's doing out there both interesting and uplifting
he'll bring a smile to your face for sure..
if you wander about enough out here you might also run into Roger/Proneman
when in town he's based out of Kailua now but Roger's everywhere
this might be a good summer from what I'm seeing so far coming out of antarctica
Hey Makakilo, Sam is my cousin. He was a big time west side surfer in the late 60’s early 70’s. A real “heavy” back then. He’s had his picture in surfer mag twice. He’s a hell of a paddler too. I met him a couple of times through a mutual friend who was paddling with Sam. Sam’s a little older than me.
Back in his youth Sam was a wild one, and he got in trouble then did some time. His father was adopted by my grandfather’s younger brother Sam Alama, who was a member of the Hawaii Calls musician group. I think his father may have been a hellman as well cause my father’s family seems to have banished them. When my father’s aunt died Uncle Sam sold his house in Waianae and moved to Samoa where he married a much younger woman. He was an old man by then and died there. There’s a bunch of Samoans with the last name Alama who are probably from that family. Kinda sad when he left because he had a really nice property in Waianae with taro loi and a stream running through it. Dad said he was fed up with his kids who were adopted, and my father’s family just cut them out of their lives, saying they are not our blood relatives.
Sam said he tried calling relatives and everyone gave him the cold shoulder. It’s sad because he really worked hard to turn his life around. From what I saw he’s a good person now but still someone you wouldn’t want to have pissed off at you. All the canoe guys really respected him. He’s good friends with Mel Pu’u.
Hi Jim, Kaion is the shop I couldn’t think of. They have a lot of nice boards there.
This photo so much reminds me of many double-up wave days @ Empty Lot. Lock-ins were the best! and Nat Moody was the best at it; he could squeeze into the smallest of tubes with classic style. Thanks for sharing this photo.
