I think that love affair has just been building, admin to admin, for quite a few cycles. I’m not at all pleased with how our country has changed, hijacked by the multinationals basically, they now pretty much own our political process (such as it is), control the “dialogue”, hypnotize the masses… The whole thing does make me nervous and really, all that is one of the reasons I left the overdeveloped, overused West coast and moved to rural Colorado. Lots of other bigger reasons though…
Gotta give respect to get respect +100.
I’ve found this to be especially true in Hawaii. I’m sure being old enough to be just about anybody’s grampa also helps, but I’ve been treated with smiles and generosity by the locals on Maui and Kauai after showing proper deference. Have also seen young, aggro, haole hotshots with attitude get soundly thumped after they dissed the local crew. So long as you acknowledge it’s their wave, seems like they’re more than happy to share, so long as you don’t behave like a glutton. Try to put yourself in their shoes, given the totality of their history and all. How would YOU feel? Simple common sense, really.
Big Island has few surf spots. It’s still very much the wild west with a strange vibe. Need to have a local with you. Parts of Kauai and Maui too. I surfed Pakalas with a friend who lived on Kauai around 1978. Afterwards we went to Waimea and there was a beach there where we surfed. One of the guys there said to me “you from town eh?” I said no I’m from Ewa Beach, and he said “yeah, Oahu, town.” Was OK, but you could hear some resentment.
Funny, half of my Hawaiian blood comes from Waimea, Kauai, and I have friends there, but I’m a stranger, an outsider, and they’ll let me know that.
Most of the so called “locals” and hot young pros are kids who’s families have been in Hawaii for one generation or less They may have moved here when they were young, or their parents moved here before they were born. They don’t want you coming to their spot even though our families have roots there that go back many generations. These kinds of people shut down the super ferry idea. Lots of locals were hoping to load the kids in the car and holoholo to Kauai or Maui to see the Uncles, Aunties and cousins for the day and head home. A lot easier on the pocket book for many here. But the new locals don’t see things that way. It didn’t help that a few asshoes filled up trucks with river bed rocks and tried to bring them back to Oahu.
Welcome to my world, sometimes it’s hard to stay focussed on the right things.
I had a similar experience to Greg’s Big Island experience on Maui. A friend and I (my friend’s a haole who lived there) paddled out to a spot called Mala Wharf (is it wrong to name spots? Well, it’s no big secret). It was just me and him, one gremmie on the inside and two longboarders. The longboarders looked like locals, one was very “kanaka.” They basically never let us have a wave. It was shoulder high, really long rides, glassy, no crowd at all. They would always make it back to the line up before the next set and sit on top of us. It would have been very easy to start a rotation given the absolute lack of a crowd, but they wouldn’t have it. Never let us have a wave. My friend just said, “I’ve learned it’s best to just keep your mouth shut.”
I should mention that I’m not haole. In fact I must look a lot like someone who lives there because everywhere I went people would call a name when they saw me. Like “Hey Mike!”
So, what do you do when the locals need regulating?
sometimes I think its more a matter of, one extra person is acceptable, while 2 is not. I surfed that spot too, paddled out by myself with some locals, they shared (small but fun) waves with me and joked around…and I’m clearly a haole.
Jeff, at some of the spots I now call “my spot” I had to work hard to get waves when I first went there when the “boys” were out. At courts in 1986, after I recovered from torn muscles in my back, I decided to surf everyday. I lived right across the street, so Courts was the easiest to get to and most consistent place. I would get vibed by all the older guys like China, even Kimo Hollinger was very cold. I had been surfing there on and off since 1973, but not during the midday on weekdays. Today, some of these guys are good friends, but back then I had to work hard just to get a wave. I remember once in the late 70’s, I got chased in by China, lucky he didn’t get me cause he was mad at me for taking off behind him.
In 1980 or so, I was out at the right coming off of Big Lefts on a big day. When it’s good the right will go all the way through Baby Haleiwa. I had a new board from Downing Hawaii a 5-8 winged round tail thruster, my first three fin board. Anyway there’s 2 guys out there and me. One has a longboard and he drops in on me for the first half hour. Finally I get a couple good ones where I’m air dropping into the barrel, and I’m following this a-hole. After that I got a little slack, but I know the trip.
The surf rage incident that the ‘my wave’ article talks about ended with the local enforcer finding where the other guy was staying with his wife and two kids, and later that night he came back and threatened them with a gun (pistol in the mouth of the other guy).
So is this considered OK behaviour? If not, where do you draw the line?
In the current age localism and any violence in the water is such an outdated and stupid thing.
As many have said, 99% of the time the guys hassling are usually not true locals anyway, and are NEVER the best surfers in the water.
that’s why i don’t like surfing any where but my home break 5 minutes from my house and even there it can get bad.
sometimes when really desperate i’ll make the 5 mile trek to “white plains” or “Officer Beach” and fight the crowds and its weird to see all the newbies from kapolei, makakilo and the westside take ownership like its their beach. But i’ll run into at least someone I know from back in the day who’ll come by or paddle over and say hi and then the newbies begin wondering who’s that?. Kind of like surfing my home break and having some newbie say wow you must be an old timer cuz you know everyone. All I have to do is point to shore and say yea we grew up the beach in front of the lineup. Even then sometimes it doesn’t get you the credentials to get a wave when its really good and it becomes a rat race. Someone in the lineup coined the term “rat race” cause he said when our spot gets good then all the “rats” from town and elsewhere show up to fight each other for “Their wave”. But like the “uncles” used to yell at me at Alii, Makaha or Hanalei, just go boy jus go.
Unfortunately these days its more like the young ones yelling jus go uncle jus go.
I remember watching and admiring uncle Grant Kahane in his late 70’s and 80"s catch waves and he didn’t give a rip just dropped in his gigantor gun. some times just straight and no one ever gave him a bad time no matter where he surf, his wave was his wave and he didn’t mind sharing. While guys like Kimo Hollinger would get hassled by young punks who didn’t know who he was. I’ve surfed my spot with guys like Sunny and Johnny Boy and they were cool while guys like Bruce Desoto at Makaha would get hostile.
The only one person I ever knew who could calm and change the vibe in the lineup just by their presence was Rell at Makaha and my Aunty Honey at Shark Country or Jesse Mizunaka at White Plains.
Maybe the answer is more surfing aunties out in the lineup to scold both the old and young hot heads when they are in the wrong. Not too many of them anymore although PPK told us a story of how Andy Iron’s mom chased all the wave hogs at Hanalei including Laird out of the water with her screaming. I’ve heard stories of Jeannie Chesser doing the same at some south shore spots.
These days the only wahine I see are the ones using their g-string bikinis to distract you so they can drop in with the rest of the wave hogs.
we need more surf “aunties”
“Maybe the answer is more surfing aunties out in the lineup to scold both
the old and young hot heads when they are in the wrong.”
Amen to that. I’ve seen older women shame bullies into backing off more than once in the water in Hawaii.
Phyllis Damron at Diamond Head, the boogey board chick from the 70’s who rode giant Waimea.
She is a non-stop talker, talks to herself half the time. She get you to move away just for the peace and quiet.
Uncle Grant was a Big Lefts and Courts regular. We surfed many, many days together, but he always called me Mike. After about a year or so, I stopped correcting him. He taught me where to sit on the big days at Big Lefts. Problem with that lineup was the big bouys that we used to triangulate from were destroyed in the giant south swell back in the 90’s. Grant’s brother has a 1966 or so Greg Noll surfboard. The only board he has and has ridden it since it was brand new. I haven’t seen him for a while, I hope he’s OK. Uncle Grant would also say, “let’s go” and we’d takeoff together, I’d go right and he would go left.
Mel Kini was another good guy in the water. He could catch anything with his 10’ Chuck Andress, and he always knew where the wave was going to be. He’d sit way outside and wait for the set, and he’d be right there every time. He shared a lot too, he often would tell guys to go.
RIP Mel and Uncle Grant. I miss surfing with you two.
That is way over the line. That guy should go to jail. He showed up at my house with a gun he would get a surpise and end up in the morgue.
The best example I can give. Early twenties punk is super aggro in the water. Can surf but thinks all the waves belong to him. At some point larger surfer who has been around and also a good surfer but a bit past his prime takes a wave punk thinks should be his just because…so punk tries intimidating guy out of a wave who had waited his turn and was in postion. Older guy takes off. Punk splashed water in older guys face and starts cursing at him and calling him a kuk and etc. Older guy tells him to back off and stay out of his face. Moments later, punk it again pushing for postion on the older and and starts cursing him and making fun and etc. Older guy tells puke to back off, but is he feels that strongly about it why not simply take it up on the beach and settle thing.
Puke says, figures you would be a violence loving redneck while splashing more water. Older guy reaches over grabs puke by neck and holds him underwater about 10 seconds with puke struggling and becoming frantic. Punk didn’t know the older guy was a well seasoned street fighter, martial artist and past swimming champion. Puke comes up gasping for air. Paddles in. Calls police and tells all of his friends about the maniac that just attacked him for no reason. Sorry, puke got lucky and got a lesson. Police laugh.