Saturday afternoon Wave Dave had his arm broken at Middles by a out of control tourist on a stand up board. Is it time to introduce some limits on stand up surfing on Hanalei Bay? I say yes.
Funny you say that. The Hawaiian islands were first settled around 600 AD. The people living here were constantly travelling back and forth from the south pacific and who knows, maybe even up to North America. They lived here in a thriving peaceful existence for 600 years. Then about 1200 AD a banished canabalistic priest named Pa’ao convinced a band of Tahitian warlords to go to Hawaii and take over. Since the people living in these islands were not the warrior type, and they were smaller in size, they were easily over taken and enslaved. The ones that managed to escape into the forests were eventually known as the menehune.
I believe my roots go back to the people of old, Ka Po’e Kahiko. They are the true kanaka Maoli and will always be. The Tahitians warlords who came here calling themselves Alii killed each other for 500 years until the British showed up and Kamehameha realized that we needed to become a unified nation. The people of old were a unified nation living in a peaceful sustainable society. Problems were not solved with violence, but with ho’oponopono. If that didn’t work, banishment did.
It’s funny that this modern society will never understand what the people of old knew so many years ago. Sadly, a peaceful sustainable existence is what we all would love to have, but it is probably too far gone. Money, power, greed, that’s what we have today.
The core locals at a well known and heavily regulated pointbreak in northern latitudes have now banned SUP’s from the lineup, enforcing that ban with whatever is required.
Whereas that crew traditionally represets the more extreme in overly protective local knuckleheads, it’s not hard to understand their position. Often many of the core locals at any premier surf spot are the lowest on the economic ladder, having devoted their life to surfing, scraping by as best they can, never having fully integrated work/surf/life. So surfing is so damn important to them, as it is often literally all they’ve got.
And then here’s comes some bloke sweeping past them, maybe clueless newbies who don’t even know what they don’t know, maybe a below average surfer who is tired of settling for shoulders, maybe even surf royalty who picked up the paddle to maintain the pack superiority enjoyed for so many decades as head stud before age caught up with them.
And so now instead of competing with each other within long honored ability heirarchies, the core locals now find themselves at the mercy of the sweeper who just took from them, with complete disregard of that heirarchy, pretty much all they have and what they often value most. And because the more advanced sweepers tend to be absurdly wave consuming due to the speed with which they can return to the lineup after completing a ride, it’s not unusual to see the same sweeper(s) literally taking the best waves, set after set.
And to this, said sweepers say “get used to it, things change…if you don’t like it, go somewhere else or get on board…”
So no surprise many locals find themselves grinding their teeth and clenching their fists when they spot the sweeper fleet approaching…
Viejo. Who surfed there for 16 years? You or your friend Wave Dave ? Hell 16 years !! Thats a New bee !! As of January 5 I have surfed Kauai for 40 years !! In that 40 years I haven't seen any regulations or laws that have made Kauai or Hawaii a better place !! In the mid 1970s when the Hobie cat was hot there were more than a few hobie 14 sailing through the surf brake amongst the surfers,and then there were also the 6 man canoes, the zodiacs. the windsurfers, kite surfers. Ya, theres been a lot of broken arms, legs, heads and what ever out at Hanalei. We have no counsel members on Kauai that are hard core watermen and they are the ones who do the regutateing. Regulations, Hell no! Not now , not ever !!! SUPs , Surfers, Wind surfers, big boards, short boards, they all have the right to use the ocean . IF you cant handle it take up bowling!!!
That’s the problem these days.
Too much menehune,
not enough ali’i.
Kokua - as Ambrose so keenly pointed out Hanalei’s been gentrified for a long time. A byproduct is what you seen now, or hear about in Viejo’s situation with his friend. They’ll rent those things to anyone, and we all know anyone can paddle out to the spots int the bay with a dry head. I felt a little bit sorry for Viejo getting all of those exclamation points pointed in his direction.
BTW, our friend J.A. just had a successful liver transplant at U.C.L.A. Medical Center and is doing fine, ready to get out of the ICU.
aloha~
==ep
waipouli was high and dry
the evac map
aka inundation zone
includes us but
only the beach
fishermans path
was swamped
by driftwood
laden surge…
staying home was difficult
right down to the 3:07
dead line but the old men were right
the tsu don come o’heah…
…ambrose…
the video of the black wave/surge
makes me consider evacuating next time…
not too much regulating goin on in Honalei
how big were the waves?
viejo has no profile . Who is he and why does he know anything about Hanalei ?
Because he has lived and surfed there for 16 years.
what about that guy flying through the last peak packed with kids and beginners on his OC-1 one man canoe trying to drop in?
then there's the guy who stands up and surfs a 6 man canoe all by his lonesome in front of the elks and outrigger canoe clubs in waikiki.
seemed like there were alot of standup paddlers in the bay but the majority seemed pretty competant with their equipment.
go to white plains or tennis courts, or makaha these days to see the SUP traffic jams.
hanalei is nothing compared to certain spots in town.
the kite boarders and sail boarders flying right through the pack at diamondhead when it's good and crowded is another example of something that perhaps should be regulated
Longboard or shortboard? Locals only or visitors too? Me or you?
Surfing was open and inclusive when I was a kid. The Kona guys would talk story if you were on that side, and vice versa. It was cool.
Then came crowds, dope, hassles, backstabbing and who knows what else. People became greedy, they looked to go back to "the way it was". But you, me and everyone else knows there's no going back. Thuggery and off-the-water, parking lot trips, pranks and effing damages aren't surfing, they are simply criminal, knuckle-dragger responses. These actions are not the answer.
I'm not whining "why can't we all get along". Surely there are some poor players. Everyone drops in on someone, sometime. Some guys (or girls) do it a lot more. There are even some nice guys, who simply drop in a lot. Sometimes they're thugs too.
There is no easy answer, and there isn't going to be. But I suggest that anyone offended should speak up, in the water, against clear violations of common sense. Yeah sometimes this can put you in opposition to goons and then it's time to consider something more effective. If your break has a number of goons, you gotta expect this. If a truckload of goons show up, you may simply have to co-exist or come back later. Unpleasant it may be, but it can and will happen that anyone is relegated back to grem status, low on the pole. Usually it's temporary.
If you were the boss of a company, or a manager of some section in a large operation, how would you deal with a non-performer, if that person were also a union member?
If you surf Hanalei or anyspot on a regular basis you begin to see familar faces...Hanalei has grown with its popularity..due to many reasons...I agree with alot of what Honolulu has said..You need to not be aggresive but let people know what it is they are doing wrong..."Middles" can be a very fun wave with a small crowd of people who know what they are doing...Speak up tell someone what they are doing wrong. Paddle away from them if they want more than just your words...If your a local you feel confident enough to regulate your home break. It's your home. Stand up is fun but because of the learnig curve it will bring people who just dont know what the right thing to do is...
Aloha ~ Thomas
Howzit Wood_Ogre, I agree about 16 years being a newbie after almost 40 years myself. I have never heard of these people viejo, or who is hanalei boy and wave dave. Dave Implomb of Imua surfboards used to be caled Big Wav Dave years ago but I don't know if he is Wave Dave now. At Hanalei it's every man for himself and ablity and respect are the things that count and get you waves or you just take them and hope you don't get punched out. The place is a zoo these days and the children of the children of the original guys are surfing it now so we are talking 3 generations of 1 family now. I can remember the first time I was at Pine Trees and it was a perfect 3-4 ft and not a person out, you'll never see that again. One person That always gets his share at the Bay is Mark Sausen AKA Papa Sau AKA PS surfbards and he just takes any wave unless Titus is on it. One thing I'm sure you realize is the population of Kauai has doubled since we got there and any body who got there after they put in the new road from Kapaa is almost a newbieI wonder if these guys even knew we had 2 gas pumps in Hanalei at one time or even the laundrymat behind the old RiceMill. Aloha,Kokua
Viejo has the chops, knew he was partners w/ Yater in the 50’s and 60’s building boards before you guys and your big 40 year run at the Bay.
Viejo has the chops, knew he was partners w/ Yater in the 50’s and 60’s building boards before you guys and your big 40 year run at the Bay.
Honolulu-Charlie for President!!!
At least ...Governor!!!
I think most of us have been in some skirmishes while surfing, we talk it over with the other person and hopefully move on. As of this AM the guy who hit Dave has not come forward.
If anybody out there knows who it is you might suggest to him it would be cool to go by his house and clear the air.
Howzit viejo, Is that Dave Implomb who is also Imua surfboards or Dave the tile guy. Got a couple of emails from some Hanalei friends and do you Know Pierre Bouret or Mark Sausen AKA PS surfboards. Aloha,Kokua