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| Riding the Wave of Preservation at Honolua Bay |
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By Ian ʻAkahi Masterson Honolua Roots Honolua Bay is located near the northernmost point of West Maui, Lipoa, just past Mokulēʻia Beach. The bay has several surfing peaks along the northern point and north to northwest swells refract into bay creating several excellent surfing peaks from Subs, out by Lipoa Point, to Coconuts, through to the Cave, and down the reef to the Keiki Bowl. It is an excellent example of a surfing site that the Hawaiians acknowledged as a type of wave that was enjoyable to surf: heʻe puʻewai, is to surf towards the mouth of the stream. The bay is also associated with many famous Hawaiian people. This ʻaina is sacred and these facts entitle Honolua to be a designated cultural site through the State Historic Preservation Division—though no one has requested this designation. Environmental and cultural information is encoded in Hawaiian chants and legends about Honolua and it is important to recognize this knowledge because of the impetus it provides for preserving the ahupuaʻa (land division) of Honolua: Pa kamakani Kaua‘ula, Ke nu mai la i na pali, I na pali aku o Kahakuloa, O Waiuli aku i Honolua… The Kaua‘ula wind blows, Roaring up the cliffs, The cliffs of Kahakuloa, Of Waiuli at Honolua… The Wind Gourd of Laʻamaomao is an embodiment of Lono Makua, Hawaiian god of agriculture and fertility. It is said to contain all the winds of the islands, and that they need only to be called upon to blow by opening the gourd lid and utilizing the proper chant. In Hawaiian historian Moses Nakuina’s story of Pakaʻa and son Kuapakaʻa, keepers of the gourd and attendants to Hawaiʻi Island chief KeawenuiaʻUmi, the boy is called upon to name the winds of Maui and Molokaʻi. The above portion of the chant names the predominant wind at Honolua and Kahakuloa as Kauaʻula (the red rain), a wind that seems to come from Kahakuloa. Maui surfers know this wind as the predominant tradewind that blows up the cliffs on the backside of the bluff at Honolua, thus giving us excellent surfing conditions in the lee. Also, the chant mentions Waiuli (dark waters) as the name of these cliffs at Honolua. Surfers should take note of these wind chants because they hint at not just the predominant winds, but also the favored offshore wind conditions at many locations around Hawaiʻi. King Kalakaua places Laʻamaomao aboard the trip from Tahiti made by the famous voyaging chief and surfer named Moʻikeha, who came to Hawai‘i around A.D. 1300. Laʻamaomao settled at HaleoLono in Molokaʻi, and eventually became ʻaumakua (ancestral guardian) of the winds. Kanaka heʻe nalu (Hawaiian surfers) understood that it is the winds that give us the waves and they would call on Laʻamaomao to “bring the big wind calabash” (Ka ipu nui lawe mai!) that causes the waves to rise—the origin of praying for surf. The bays of Piʻilani, Na hono a Piʻilani Piʻilani was a powerful ruling chief who at one time controlled Molokaʻi and Lanaʻi, as well as West Maui. His rule over Maui is poetically stated in the names of the six bays beginning with hono (bay) that spread around West Maui. Piʻilani is also important to us as the father of a famous Oʻahu surfer named Kalamakua, who eventually married the Maui chiefess Keleanuinohoanaʻapiʻapi (Kelea-swimming-like-a-fish). Kelea was considered the best surfer in Hawai‘i and her beauty and ability in the surf at Lahaina had attracted Kalamakua, who initially took her to Oʻahu to be the wife of his chief. The two eventually fell in love while surfing the famous surfing break Kalehuawehe at Waikīkī on her way home to Maui. Honolua Bay is the first bay that offers safe harbor from the Kauaʻula winds, and being the closest point to Oʻahu for those travelers that head north of Molokaʻi, Honolua has played a role in the ascension of ruling chiefs that leads to the consolidation of the Hawaiian Islands. Around 1738, Oʻahu chief Peleʻioholani gathered his forces at Honolua Bay to assist Maui’s ruling chief KauhiʻaimokuaKama in defending Maui against Hawaiʻi’s chief AlapaʻinuiaKauaua. Alapaʻi had cut off the streams from Kanaha to Lahainaluna, as well as those of Ukumehame, Wailuku, and Honokawai, in an attempt to weaken Kauhi’s forces before doing battle. In the end, because the battle at Puʻunene was so fierce, the two chiefs ended the war and Kamehameha-nui was placed as ruler of Maui, who ruled the island peacefully. During the 1800s it appears that the ahupuaʻa of Honolua was given to Lunalilo as Land Grant #8559b. Many small kuleana lots were also granted to the families that still resided in the valley. By the early 1890s, Honolua Bay became a place to raise cattle as headquarters of the new Honolua Ranch, started by Henry P. Baldwin. During this time there was a pier near the present boat ramp where inter-island steamers would drop off supplies and pick up cattle and agricultural products produced by the ranch. That landing was destroyed by the 1946 tsunami. Surfing takes holdPioneer surfer Fred Van Dyke talks about the first use of leashes as at Honolua Bay. Apparently, Fred and some of the guys would tie a rope around their waist and attach it to the nose of their board, so if they wiped out, they could stand on the reef and pull the board back out through the surf before it hit the cliff. Along with Pipeline, Honolua Bay is credited as the place where the ‘70s short board revolution began. Dick Brewer organized the first surfing competition there in 1965. As the popularity of surfing grew, Honolua Bay gained a reputation as being one of the best surfing spots in the world. The beauty and importance of Honolua Bay was recognized by the state in 1978. It was designated a Marine Life Conservation District meant to preserve, protect and conserve marine resources and geological features and to foster recreational and sustainable public use of the area. Implications of this designation have much to do with commercial and leisurely recreational uses such as boating and fishing in the bay, an area designated by painted white rocks at the outer points of Honolua and Mokulēʻia. Only the ʻakule (big-eyed scat) fisherman are allowed to bag their catch in the bay, since that was a traditional activity due to the rough seas offshore. Preserving Honolua BayLocal sentiment has led the way for preservation onshore, where Maui Land & Pineapple Company (ML&P) had planned numerous private and commercial development projects including an 18-hole golf course, 40 homes, a cultural park, coastal trail and a surf park. Local residents opposed to that development formed the Save Honolua Coalition as an organized resistance to such development, stating that Maui’s urban sprawl has already gone too far. ML&P spokeswoman, Teri Freitas Gorman, said her company agrees that the area should be protected, but adds concerns about people leaving behind junk cars, trash, human waste and the use of offroad vehicles on Lipoa Point. The developer’s plans included a Surf Park that would address many of these concerns and a few longtime Maui residents who had studied the plan felt that it was a respectable proposal favoring coastal preservation, public access and amenities. The planned bathroom and parking lot improvements were meant for the public, but would continue to be maintained by Maui Land & Pine. As the anniversary of the Save Honolua Bay protest at the Lahaina Civic Club passes (April 2007), the group can celebrate their success—all plans for development in Honolua have been dropped. ML&P has withdrawn all conceptual plans from the General Plan Advisory Committee, including the golf course, the luxury homes and all plans for parks, open space and cultural uses. However, there are still many hurdles to preserve and maintain the resources within the bay. The developers have essentially handed that responsibility over to the community. It has been a long battle with both sides working earnestly to create a development plan for the area that would please everyone while respecting the special nature of Honolua. This struggle has at some points split the community and it is still a sensitive issue because the future of Honolua is not resolved. The Honolua Advisory CouncilA group of concerned community members have come together to help secure the future of Honolua, Lipoa, and Punalau. The Honolua Advisory Council is dedicated to preserving, revitalizing and protecting these areas by mediating dialogue and planning between the community and the landowner, which remains ML&P. Their goal is to address the issues at hand with minimal impact to the area. Their plan is specific to each area within the property. The coastal headlands of Lipoa Point are traditional fishing grounds and many cultural sites still exist. These lands have been set aside for preservation with fishing access roads along the edges of the existing fields. The kupunas’ requests not to develop the Punalau area have been respected, thus Windmills will remain un-touched, as it should. The surfers’ access to Honolua Bay along the cliffs is the council’s main concern and many want to see it remain as is. But when it rains the red dirt is slick and safety becomes a paramount issue. The council recommends that the road atop the cliff be re-engineered to control the current rainwater runoff that destroys the reef and erodes the bluff. An environmental team from the Pu‘u Kukui Watershed Preserve goes even further to recommend that the road be moved over slightly from the edge of the cliff. The council is asking that the surfers do minimal improvements to the trails to help with erosion and to take note that locals are already planting native plants for this reason, much like the vegetative restoration to the cliffs at Diamond Head on O‘ahu. The big question remains: Now that ML&P has stepped out of the picture, who will manage this area? Where does the financial burden lie? Honolua Advisory Council believes that the surfers’ access area should fall under the umbrella of an organization such as Maui Coastal Land Trust and be managed by a stewardship program. As a group, surfers are backed by a multi-billion dollar worldwide industry. Will the industry be willing to give back to the places that elevated the sport? Are there any surfing companies willing to take a long-term kuleana, work with local surfers and community members, and provide funding that ensures proper maintenance and preservation of the natural and cultural resources at hand far into the future? Such partnerships are working in the ahupuaʻa of Moanalua and Kahana on Oʻahu—each home to legendary Hawaiian surfers Māmala and Palani. Other models exist for cultural management of entire ahupuaʻa, namely Limahuli Gardens on Kauaʻi, where a community-created, DLNR approved cultural plan supersedes county allowances for development. The winds of local sentiment swelled into action over the past year and now the wave of preservation has crested. It is time to do our part, to put our heads down and paddle hard. The door is now open at Honolua, and it is up to us to ride this wave of preservation through. And just like the end bowl, the end goal is the keiki. savehonolua.org honoluabay.org
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