Inside Section

An Evening for Eddie

After thirty years of delivering Eddie Aikau’s tall tale in an understandably heavy tone, Marion Lyman-Mersereau now shares the story with a new spirit. Eddie Wen’ Go: The Story of the Upside-Down Canoe tells the tragedy of the Hokule‘a on its unsuccessful voyage in 1978 from the perspective of marine life, based on her own experience as the only female aboard at the time of the capsize. 

On the evening of June 19, 2008 Lyman-Mersereau and her cast of characters presented the first half of the light-hearted children’s book at Punahou School. Friends, families, and students of the author and performers were in attendance alongside members of both the Aikau ‘ohana and the Eddie Aikau Foundation. Following the reading was a question-answer session, during which kids expressed their wonderment and, with wide eyes, shared their most imaginative inquiries. One little girl asked if there had been any whale or shark sightings while the crew hung onto the canoe “like opihi,” as Lyman-Mersereau had described it. In response, she explained that it was only as she was being lifted out of the ocean into the rescue helicopter that she spotted a 10-foot tiger shark circling the overturned Hokule‘a. She thought it to be no coincidence that she and the others were all of Hawaiian ancestry; the situation was undoubtedly a true demonstration of aumakua—protection provided by a family god manifested in animal-form. A disclaimer prior to the start of the ceremony would have been appropriate, perhaps something along the lines of, “Note: may cause extreme and intense chicken-skin.”

Nonetheless, while Eddie Wen’ Go’s primary target audience is the younger generation, the performance was genuinely enjoyable for those of all ages. It was an evening to honor Eddie not only as a talented surfer and courageous waterman, but also as the loving, compassionate being that he truly was. —Jana Hofheimer  

Bust out the popcorn

Mark Richards stood in front of the silver screen, Shaun Tomson at his side, beaming with childlike excitement. MR grabbed the mic and addressed the attendees in the theatre, “Shaun has been dragging me around California for the last couple weeks—f**k it’s great to be back in Hawai‘i. I used to spend four months a winter here between ’72 and ’87. I spent a great deal of my youth here and there’s still no better feeling than driving through the pineapple fields from Wahiawa and seeing the North Shore in the distance.”

The opening night of Bustin’ Down The Door went down at Regal Dole Cannery on July 30, to a nostalgic and star-studded group of surfers. Rory Russell, Fred Hemmings and a cache of other cats came in support of the independent documentary produced by Shaun Tomson, Monika Gosch and Robert Traill. It was more than an hour of classic surf footage from the ‘70s and recent interviews, sewn together from the perspective of the Australian and South African contingent of chargers as they descended upon the North Shore during the winters of 1974 through 1976. The story isn’t all beers and barrels and in fact, several of the group are lucky to be alive today, almost falling victim to a heavy cultural clash.

The film, narrated by Edward Norton, revisits tough times on the North Shore and tackles some issues about the inception of the modern day surf industry and professional surfer. MR and Shaun stuck around after the film to field questions from the audience and without incident, the good times flowed freely at the post-screening shindig at Sam Choy’s Breakfast, Lunch and Crab, or was that the Primo. —Kevin Whitton


 

Not Just Shop Talk

With the summer contest season in full swing, Ala Moana Bowls gets more contest action than tourists sprawled across the beaches of Waikiki. With back-to-back events going down at the south shore’s gem, contest jerseys colored the lineup once again on Friday, July 11 for the Quiksilver Surf Shop Challenge Hawaiian Regional Qualifier. 

Eight shop teams from across the islands—Blue Hawai‘i, Local Motion, Pacific Vibrations, Quiksilver Waikiki, Hi-Tech, HIC, Town & Country, Nu Kumoi Surf Co—showed up to battle it out for bragging rights and the opportunity to join the five other regional winners for the ultimate shop showdown national championships at Huntington Beach, Calif. The surf was two to three feet and the conditions were prime for the surfers to carve up the head-high lefts.

Last year, with the event held at Kewalo Basin, team T own & Country edged out Local Motion by just a couple points in the final heat, so Local Motion was looking to have their revenge and hand it to them at Bowls, no less. Unfortunately for them, they’ll have to wait till next summer, as Town & Country took the gold once again, with Nu Kumoi in second, Pacific Vibrations in third and HIC rounding out fourth. —Kevin Whitton

Search for the Alpha-Grom

Saturday, July 12 was, unsurprisingly, a beautiful day in Hawai‘i Nei, delivering a fun swell and prime conditions for the state’s best teens and tweens to duke it out at the Rip Curl GromSearch. Participants were summoned to the west side of the Valley Isle to demonstrate their grom-tastic talent for the sake of being crowned Champ, scoring some hefty swag, and, although it goes without saying, gaining some pretty impressive street-cred.

The contest began with the eldest boys, who were noticeably focused as they gave it their all in the water. However, Tanner Hendrickson’s approach—aggressive, yet precise—surpassed that of his contemporaries and granted him an invitation to the National Finals at Salt Creek, Calif. Kain Daly of Ho‘okipa killed it in both the under 14 and under 12 divisions, but was unable to snag either first-place slots and left the door open for Imaikalani Devault, who claimed the under 12 division on his own stomping grounds. As for the young women, it was the style and grace of Lani Doherty that secured her spot on top and earned her an invite to the National Finals in the winter.

Competitors and spectators gathered at the Rip Curl Surf Center in Lahaina post-contest for the awards ceremony and a screening of “Somewhere…,” the latest Rip Curl production. With delicious food and great company, the lu‘au was all the more reason for celebration. —Jana Hofheimer

Porpoise People Take to Sandy Beach

The bodysurfing community is small in numbers compared to other surfing sects, but is matchless in purity of passion through their simplistic relationship with the ocean. Save for boardshorts, jammers, or Speedos and a pair of fins, no other physical hindrances inhibit their connection to waves. The only way to have a purer connection would be to regress to primal status, drop all clothing and join a pod of dolphins. Fortunately for the rest of the contestants at the Sandy Beach Bodysurfing Championship, all porpoise people stayed in their waterbeds for the duration of the contest, which took place on July 12–13, 2008.

This year’s contest was somewhat tinged with sadness and nostalgia, being the last one run by the Thomas family due to the island migration. Even though they’re moving, confidence remains that someone will pick up the reigns. “There’s no drama or anything. It’s just a fun grass roots contest,” said daughter Hannah Thomas. And fun was had as a fresh south swell blasted the event, focusing its energy on Pipe Littles and leaving dry sand, rock infested wompers at the shorebreak.

Brandishing a new format, contestants voted where on the beach their division’s heats would be held. Within the heats themselves, surfers fit in as many maneuvers as possible within the three-second rides. The standard barrel roll was often seen and judges were treated to a few belly spins and front flips. The judges’ delight meant the success for some and disappointment for others, for despite the ‘ohana vibe of the event, it was still a contest. —Noa Myers

When’s My Board Ready Uncle

A unique thing about O‘ahu is that the lineups are jam packed with surf legends paddling around and dropping in. Unfortunately, the water is not the best place to talk shop or ask any profound questions, seeing as Uncle is always getting his share of waves. But the Chinatown Boardroom's monthly Surf Discussion Series provides this opportunity.
July's special guest was living legend Ben Aipa and he warmed the cozy surf art studio with good memories and positive stories.

At first sight of Ben, you immediately notice his sincere perma-smile. His eyes squint, not from too much sun, but from non-stop smiling. With a laugh, he shared his secret spot as well as how he invented the sting from the hydrofoil boat. Remember this is the man who literally shaped the shortboard revolution, but that is a story in itself.

Ben was recently received the Coach of the Year Award from the NSSA and most of his talk focused on being a surf coach. He emphasized the fact that there are so many kids out there with extreme surf talent, but with little direction, a focus that comes from good parenting or proper coaching. That's where Aipa's latest job comes in and he takes it very seriously. His goal is not only to coach kids to be better surfers, but better people. Ben’s story continues as he evolves shaping surfboards into shaping surf lives. —Manny Pangilinan