A book would be a cool idea. Whether single-author or collection of stories. I would love to contribute.
I'm also one of those military-related haole kids, even though I was able to stay on Ewa Beach Rd. from ages 8-19. Race wasn't an issue, at least I don't think so, as we were a small community and all knew each other. I think character had a lot more to do with possibly getting pounded than color of skin.
Aloha
Flagpoles
I liked the format of Greg Nolls “Life over the edge with the Bull”, he tells the story, then about a half dozen of his pals tell their version, each caper is presented like that
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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.
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howzit shark country!? aaahh, yeh bradda mel is a sweet guy. not all of his makaha brethren share his disposition to be sure. you know, sam came out ok. owns a nice house in makakilo. and yeah, hes a pretty tough character. ive trained in the fighting arts for the better part of 10 years but i wouldnt want any part of sam. his oldest son is one super tough bastid too, easy 6'5" and built like a brick house. but very nice, well to me and fellow makakilo boys at least. hes at the end of a long stretch of incarceration. pray for bradda that he can steer clear of pilikia this time around.
anyways, im hearing that around tuesday were supposed to be getting sizeable surf. are you hearing the same? what say you sir?
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Hi Makakilo,haven’t heard much about any swells. I’m hoping to get wet this weekend, somewhere in town. Overhead would be great, but head high is enough.
I started reading this Ewa Beach thread and just had to chime in with my one memory of hanging with the bros from Ewa; wind the clock back to maybe 1962 or somewhere close to that; the big name ripper from EB was John Sodowski, at least thats what we town boys heard; I think Vinney Brian and Kevin Johns were also good surfers from Ewa… but to the point please…my buddy Lance Lewis[ J Akuhead Pupuliʻs son] was hanging with the Sakai Bros from EB and kept telling us what a great place Hau Bush was and how cool all the EB bros were and that we should come check it out; we were a little reluctant to leave our haven at Alamo but Lance was insistant and claimed that the coming weekend was a really good time cause Ewa Beach surf club was having their monthly meeting/beach party; sounded good to us, check out the EB scene,some surf chicks and the famed Hau Bush [whoa, Hau Bush stay throwing out]; so Lance led the 3 of us town punks out to Ewa country, guests of the Sakai Bros for a weekend of fun and surf and a good party; well, the rest of the weekend is kind of a hazy memory; the EB surf club meeting saturday night turned into a good drunk for most attending; at some point I think I threw up and made a complete ass of myself [great ambassedor from the Alamo crew], ended up sleeping in a car and waking up with a whopper of a hangover; Hau Bush didnʻt help any the next day, throwing out at a weak two feet…but…all the EB crew were so friendly and such gracious hosts to us townies; we made some good friends that weekend; from time to time I see some of the EB crew here on the outer Isle; Barney Silva, Kevin Johns, the Moody Bros, Nathan, Mitz and Mouse; some of us still surf , some donʻt but regardless, we still have sweet memories of those bygone years…stay wet my friends!!!
It was my junior or senior year at Radford and Kevin and his brother Rick Johns were for their era “sponsored surfers”, rode Surfboards Hawaii’s, but the morning we all came to school only to find that Rick had been killed on the north shore when he dove off on a piddly wave onto a rock.
This re-enforced even more my fathers decree that I NEVER was to surf “that Goddamn north shore”, the service was at Punch Bowl with several hundred students with tears in their eyes. That was the first time I had lost a pal to God, like all of us, many more to follow on life’s journey
Jim,
In Oct/Nov 1963, a kid from town was surfing Velzyland, and dove off his board into the top of a shallow coral head. Ron McLeod and some others pulled him out of the water, with a finger sized hole in his temple, oozing blood and brain matter. Could this have the same individual? About two weeks before that event, on a flat day, I went diving at Velzyland. I have never seen a more dangerous bottom to surf over. It was a favorite surf spot of mine, until I saw that bottom. I've never surfed Velzyland since. The death of the kid from town, only underscored my decision at that time..
Rick Johns had been surfing Haleiwa side of Waimea in one of those little coves
I have enjoyed reading this thread. I was living on Hickam AFB in the mid 60’s and Jim Phillips turned me on to surfing and board building while both of us attended Radford. I caught my first stand up wave at Officers Beach Barbers Point. Jim’s mom would give us all a ride and dump us off. It was a supervised area and had lifeguards so we couldn’t fuck up too bad.
Hey Jim do you remember the break on the Hickam side of Pearl harbour? We used to ride my Honda to (I think it was called Clay beach?) and wop board. It was right behind the town dump which was our playground (that is a another story). Anyway…there was a reef on the outside and you and some others and your Brother Terry paddled out one day when town was pumping at 12 feet. I stayed on the beach and tried to take pictures but it was too far out for my junior camera. Do you remember that day? I could see you going over waves the looked like they were triple overhead. I think you called the place “outsides”.
Sorrry to crash the conversation about Eva but it is all kind of part of that scene.On a big day you could see the lefts peeling in to Pearl Harbour. Seems to me like there was ferry that went from the Hickam side of Pearl over to Eva?? This is a great conversation and I appreciate all of you contributing. Like a trip in the past.
Hi JIm, when I was in High School, we surfed those 2 spots a lot. They are between fingers of lava that stick out creating little coves.
The first spot was just a clearing off the hwy and there was enough room for about a dozen cars. Our friend Keahi Farden had a family country home up the lane just below the hills, so we called that spot Keahi’s. I think it’s called uppers, but we used to use our nicknames so people wouldn’t know where we surfed at. All our school friends knew these names. We surfed that spot all the time. Once we were out there and a Jaguar parks and after watching us for a while Larry Bertleman and friend paddled out. We surfed for a just a little while more then let him have it to themselves. That was a spot we could surf by ourselves all the time. It was usually an a-frame wave with a better right. It was hard to get in and out there because the waves crash right onto the rocks and it’s tricky when the surf is up.
The other spot just down from there had old style beach homes along the road. Another friend’s family had home there, so we called that one Lisa’s, but it was called Marijuanas. That spot was an incredible left much like Pipeline, but it had a deep water channel between the reef and beach. I almost drowned out there surfing with a friend during one of those freaky day when the waves jump up in size very fast. It was probably there that Rick Johns died. The reef there is really shallow, and the waves are as I said just like pipe. If you paddle down to the Haleiwa side of that spot you get to Alligator rock. On the smaller days we’d surf the lefts and rights in one session. On bigger days, alligator rock is a handful. Another local kid, Todd Chesser died surfing there on a big day. I thought Todd lived in Ewa Beach when he was young, but his mom Jeannie said no, they just came down and surfed there. Jeannie still surfs, and airbrushes boards up in the country.
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I have enjoyed reading this thread. I was living on Hickam AFB in the mid 60's and Jim Phillips turned me on to surfing and board building while both of us attended Radford. I caught my first stand up wave at Officers Beach Barbers Point. Jim's mom would give us all a ride and dump us off. It was a supervised area and had lifeguards so we couldn't fuck up too bad.
Hey Jim do you remember the break on the Hickam side of Pearl harbour? We used to ride my Honda to (I think it was called Clay beach?) and wop board. It was right behind the town dump which was our playground (that is a another story). Anyway...........there was a reef on the outside and you and some others and your Brother Terry paddled out one day when town was pumping at 12 feet. I stayed on the beach and tried to take pictures but it was too far out for my junior camera. Do you remember that day? I could see you going over waves the looked like they were triple overhead. I think you called the place "outsides".
Sorrry to crash the conversation about Eva but it is all kind of part of that scene.On a big day you could see the lefts peeling in to Pearl Harbour. Seems to me like there was ferry that went from the Hickam side of Pearl over to Eva?? This is a great conversation and I appreciate all of you contributing. Like a trip in the past.
There was a small ferry from Iroquois Point over to Hickam Pier, where the Air Force charter fishing boats were moored (Bishop's Point?). My dad was civil service and worked at Hickam Harbor. He either took that ferry, or his 16' fiberglass skiff with a 15hp Johnson on it to work everyday. I worked on the Meli Moku (55' charter boat) for a summer and went with him most days then; also worked as a ski boat driver @ Hickam Harbor another summer. Good fun. All the young girls... We did okay for civilians! My dad mostly serviced those charter boats and had to do a lot of test runs. Him and a couple of the other guys took Pohaku Moku (60 footer) from Pearl Harbor to Kona once after they changed out the engines to make sure it was safe for the officers :-). Came back with choke fish! Sashimi for all the neighbors on EBR! Good days.
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There was a small ferry from Iroquois Point over to Hickam Pier, where the Air Force charter fishing boats were moored (Bishop's Point?). My dad was civil service and worked at Hickam Harbor. He either took that ferry, or his 16' fiberglass skiff with a 15hp Johnson on it to work everyday. I worked on the Meli Moku (55' charter boat) for a summer and went with him most days then; also worked as a ski boat driver @ Hickam Harbor another summer. Good fun. All the young girls... We did okay for civilians! My dad mostly serviced those charter boats and had to do a lot of test runs. Him and a couple of the other guys took Pohaku Moku (60 footer) from Pearl Harbor to Kona once after they changed out the engines to make sure it was safe for the officers :-). Came back with choke fish! Sashimi for all the neighbors on EBR! Good days.
I remember taking so much grief from the Foster Village guys about our/my claim to the spot I had found, “yeah, Outsides”, Roger and I scouted the reef for a year or more, it was all so shallow, coming up from 6,000 feet deep to almost dry reef from Sand Island to the Pearl Harbor entrance. Then off the military dump by Ft. Kamehameha one day we saw white water coming across the reef and peeling, small day 2-3 feet, but something to keep an eye on. I paddled out one day on Roger’s board, long paddle 500-600 yards across the sea plane runway first, then 2-3 hundred yards of foot deep water with landing craft traps all along it. When I did get “outside”, there was a pretty well formed wave breaking on this strip of reef. I surfed it about a half dozen time before anyone else would paddle out with me, then the summer of '63, most likely an el nino year, the south shore pumped, radio KUMU’s surf report was calling town 10-15 with 18 foot sets.
We didn’t have cars, maybe Dick Furr drove the boards, but it was breaking big and peeling down the reef perfectly, it was as big as the radio said, the wave stood up and started into a long wall that had this sick back door bowl bending at the end section with a blast of spit. My brother Terry, a goofy footer was on the lefts coming back at it from the other side of the channel in the reef, I got a lot of the smaller waves, but took off on a monster and pearled at the bottom, but the good part was the wave backed off quickly on the inside and the boards didn’t go that far over the reef.
It was quite the feather in our caps, until we bragged about it at school, being from Hickam, we were just regarded as a bunch of kooks who couldn’t have found an unridden big wave spot or got any waves there, they referred to us as the “Hickam gutter surfers”, because we would skim board the streets after heavy rains. You all know how much ridicule surfers can dish out, Roger and i found shipping crates of Western Cedar that helo rotor blades were shipped in at the dump, some how we got them to the base hobby shop for stringers, but me being a “genius”, had to splice them for the length and rocker of boards I was building. Someone who was a good cartoonist at school created an “Outsides” movie poster with the giant waves, charictures of us and a door prize raffle for a Phillips Surfboard with it’s carefully drawn spliced /scarfed stringers.
Yeah, well I showed em’ all, only took another 45 years !!!
I remember all of that. The Foster Village guys versus the Hickam crew. I loved Hickam Harbor…it was my hangout. I used to take a light spinning reel and fish there and along the banks of Pearl Harbour. Hickam AFB was great place for kids. Lots of stuff to do. If it wasn’t for the wood hobby shop I doubt Jim Phillips or myself would have ever gotten in to building boards.
I can remember going to Eva and being kind of nervous about the locals at first. I never had any problem and everyone was really nice. A lot of military kids were around and we were usually not hassled. Same thing went for Sand Island. Jim and I used to surf there also. It was a fun time for sure.
Someone just sent me a photo of a monster ulua that the guy caught on Kauai, I believe (check out the photo). It reminded me of Mr Kanoi on Ewa Beach Road. Anyone that surfed Empty Lots regularly would have remembered dodging his fishing lines. He used to dunk for ulua off of the wall in front of Eton's house. He'd call us (any of us) in from the water or catch us before we paddled out and give us the baited hooks with lead on them, then direct us to paddle the bait outside the break and tell us where he wanted the lines dropped with arm signals "More out! More left! More right! Drop!". And if you ever ran over one of his lines you'd get serious scoldings. And if he had a fish on and you didn't paddle far away from the line moving back and forth on the outside with a big ulua on it, you better paddle in way down by Jimi Ha's store! I lived close by him for many years, and knew his son Jessie, and daughter Debbie, but he never called me anything but haoli boy. But he was cool. I stepped on a moray eel once when I was walking over the reef to get out to the surf. I ran all the way into shore with the damn thing trailing behind me attached to the back of my damn foot! Freaked me out! Me Kanoi jumped off the wall and used his knife to cut his head off. Not something I'll never forget, for sure.
Howzit Bill, Did you ever dive Log Cabins or it was called dynamites before that, has a bottom that makes Pipe look like a mattress. Aloha,Kokua
Howzit EBR, I think that pic is a about a year old because I remember seeing it in the Garden Isle Paper while still on Kauai. It's a biggie for sure but since it is also a black Ulua and that big, I bet it was tougher than anything to eat unless they soaked it in Papaya juice to soften it. Aloha,Kokua
Kokua,
No, never dove there. Most of my diving on the North Shore was from Kammie's on the south side of Sunset, and at Sunset proper, out to the drop off. Then north to Velzyland. Did a lot of diving on the west side. Both sides of Maile Point, and especially Makaha. Again out to the drop off. The drop offs at Sunset and Makaha are almost identical. Very spooky. You go from a gently sloping bottom out to 50 or 60 feet, that then suddenly plunges down into black water. Buzzy Trent called it the ''purple water drop off.'' Even with 100 foot plus visability, you could not see any bottom past the drop off! From what I've heard about the bottom at Pipe, if I'd seen it I'm sure I wouldn't have continued to surf there. Ignorance is bliss, eh?
Aloha jim, I don’t think I remember you , but if you guys want to go a little further back, My family were the care takers of the red shack in front of shark country.My dad who was a H P D.officer back then was a friend of Sonny Cordes & Freckles Spencer. They worked for Aloha Motors. I remember as a small boy before we even moved to Ewa Beach, coming from Kapahulu staying there. That was in 1956.We moved down Ewa Beach in 1957. My dad had the opportunity to least the gray shack next door where the Roxburg ohana stayed, but he was to cheap.His answer was why least that one, when we have this place. The Least back then was $25.00 a year.Then Ted Farms ohana came there around 1965. Before Issac Tanaka was the Kang Family. You older guys would remember Nelson. His dad was President of the Ewa Hurricane Little Leaque. His mom worked @ Campbell school cafeateria. Tanaka’s lived in back of their store. Also as a youngster, there was a surf club called the Waikele Hotdoggers, the guys I remember was Reno Aliviado, who was Cory’s dad.Domi Delacruz,Tony Magalanes.then later on it was Hano. The reason it clearly sticks in my small brain was, I used to borrow their boards when they pau surf. I can go on & on but I’ll shut up for now. Mahalo Squideye.