Hawaii
The roots of surfing.
The heart of surfing.
Rising from a stationary hot-spot below a moving tectonic plate.
Powerful, mana-rich mountains.
Pre-contact surfing as ceremony and religion.
Wave riding as contests of manhood or celebrations of leisure.
Ka the god of war.
Human sacrifice.
Double-hulled canoes for intra-island voyages.
Guiding by the stars.
Guided by the heart.
Cook comes and then comes back again.
Supposedly his appearance coincidentally coincided with the holiday of a powerful god.
The Hawaiians thought he was the god.
They sent their women as offerings.
Later a hawaiian steals something from his boat and Cook sends men to retrieve it.
A skirmish ensues on the beach.
Cook comes to see what's wrong but the tide turns and the natives are restless.
Cook dies on the beach.
Soon ships and navy vessels make Lahaina and Waikiki regular stops in the Pacific.
Prostitution and other vices flourish.
Sugar plantations dot the land. Pineapples too.
Waves of immigrants come to work the fields.
Japanese, Chinese, Filipino.
The Missionaries come as well.
Instruct the islanders to wear more clothes, be industrious, don't lounge at the beach, don't surf, work work work.
Surfing wanes in popularity.
Surfing nearly dies.
In the 1800s it begins to pick up some steam.
The Waikiki beach boys gladly paddle pasty-white mainlanders out to Queens.
They gladly entertain the wealthy mainland ladies.
The Duke makes his worldwide tour.
Olympic fame.
Plants the surfing seed around the world.
Bonga Perkins
Rell Sunn Alii pose
Michael Ho
Just here to claim my name.
I reserve the right to comment when good surfing conditions return to the Beach.
Posted by: friend #1The site returns to normality. Looks good. Here is more Hawaii:
Posted by: MSGI've always been impressed by the "old timers" in Hawaii who charge huge waves on big ol' longboards and ride em' like short boards. Really cool to watch.
Posted by: still newThanks for doing all this e, I've been taking work way too seriously lately. And seem to be out of sync with mother nature. All my instincts seem to be off when it comes to scoring surf. Hope someone is getting empty, glassy lefts.
Posted by: obrochecking in for the first time in awhile, good to see you're still keeping 'er goin' e.
Posted by: jthanks for getting things going again - why is it that low tide never works at some places and does at others - clouds look pretty dark this am out at the beach
Posted by: mareThis is a weird format...It feels like the year there was a strike in the NFL and the uniforms were the same but there were nobody you recognize...familiar yet vaguley foreign...like when they replaced the dukes of hazzard with 2 new dudes and went on like it was the same show!!
Posted by: antmanwe want old niceness back!
Back in Black.
Right fucking on!
Posted by: 3to5setsof7one thing that would make a difference visually is if the box and the word "comments" between every post could be removed. is this possible, e?
in terms of same uniforms different feel, there will certainly be a shift in vibe. but i think slowly the chaos and fun will return, with the chaos being slightly more manageable and less life threatening to our host. plus, there's the coinciding timing of inconsistent spring/summer surf to cross up the mood a bit. i know i'm feeling less than niceness these days; i've gotten skunked the last 4 or 5 times i've tried to find surf. but it all flows back around. that's why they call em waves. the churning TOH beast that was niceness shall return. my dad is personal friends with jesus himself, and allegedly he said, "it's all good my dog, ahem, my son."
Posted by: king james versionwait, this one's better. i just needed to dig deeper.
bless you my niceness.
"blessed are the shralpers, for they shall charge the charging chargeables"
Posted by: king james version-Chapter 5, verse 1, Paul's Letter to Mav's Charging Charger
Nice work E, congrats on getting the site up again.
Posted by: rulerThe spot across the bay from where Cook was killed is pretty, and crazy. The reef there is kaleidoscopic and really shallow.
Devil's Slide is going to be closed until September, at least. Whew we've still got Gay Whale Cove on our side. Rad
Posted by: Ancient JettiesHey hey.. yeah.. this whole setup is still super rickety. I need to get in there and spiffify all the code.. I don't know about you guys but i keep having to sign-in.. and then it doesn't recognize me.. then i finally do 10 refeshes and voila.. here is the comment box finally.
yeah.. I'll take away the "comment" thing with the box between each comment. THe stylesheets are all fucked up because i had to use a template from the new version of moveable type to get the authentication working.. but it didn't match with the old style.. etc.. kinda bitchy.
soo.. yeah.. hopefully in the next week or two it will smooth and easy to post comments and won't require annoying refreshes or unsightly formatting..
thanks for being patient!!
Posted by: enow that is some surf art I would buy.
Posted by: obrosomeone make a t-shirt and I'll buy 10 for the whole fam for christmas
Back from L.A. Didn't surf. Hot ladies everywhere but I would never live there. Sorry to any peeps on niceness who live down there, it just ain't my style.
Posted by: Surfseeker7Yo, the sign in is a bit rickety-snicks but it still works.
Check this art. Pretty sick if you as me:
Posted by: KaiserBig fan of this one here too:
Posted by: KaiserAJ - you say the cove is open from the South??
Not last time I checked - they've got the road closed at Montara. Has that changed now?
Don't want to be 'naming' n' all but I'd rather not make that haul and be pissed off when the road is closed!
good 2c the site back up e. good job.
Posted by: ankorscheck out blazen hazen. I dont think he surfs but it is funny....
http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2727761?htv=12
Posted by: sd riderFirst time posting. Always enjoy the Surf Report and photos, plus the squabbles that ensued. Being a Hawaii resident and getting to surf great waves makes reading all of the painful stories from San Francisco about not getting surf bearable. Your Hawaii synopsis is a little off the mark, but that doesn't both me. Recently went to the exhibit of stuff that Cook collected during his travels - nothing too earth shattering but both the diversity of things Pacific Islanders had/made for fishing back in those days and plus the similarity (indicating trade and cultural connections?) of the items across such a huge space (New Zealand to Hawaii) was impressive.
Posted by: JHinHISince it is a surf blog, a quick surf story: surfed Sunset Beach this week, dawn patrol with just myself, a friend, and two other guys out. Close to double overhead sets and just crazy conditions because the storm was close (hence lack of crowd). Good fun making big drops and driving the occasional walled up section. Yesterday surfed Queen, mentioned by e today, and also had a good time although it was only knee high. Waikiki is still a sweet spot to get some smooth waves and catch a beautiful sunset.
Anyway, keep up the good work and I'll continue to enjoy from afar.
"Born in storms on the open sea, waves do not have gentle beginnings. They are wild at birth. Through the discipline of wind and gravity, they are transformed into rhythmic swells of uniform height still containing the power of the storm which formed them as they travel across thousands of miles to distant shores. As the swells enter the shallow coastal waters they crest, and in one last dramatic moment, display their power and beauty as they break onto the shores of their destination. It is here at the death of a storm's energy that the surfer connects with the wave, using it to express himself, just as a painter uses the canvas, or a dancer the stage. It is here between the wind and the water, that man performs an intense duet with the sea."
Posted by: tonemanJack Londons thought after visiting Hawaii
Kaiser
Posted by: tonemanI am renovating a home built in the 50s.
I have tons of "art" in a huge pile in the backyard if you are interested come haul it away.
jees, the wrinkles on the back of my hand and the weird italian movie i am watching with my girlfriend right now are making me feel high. Or maybe its those brownies i pulled out of the back of the freezer.
so is gwc (aka gmc) accessable from the n. on hwy 1? I haven't been down that way in a while but assumed not.
Posted by: eric dcheck check check
Posted by: speedracerWhy was it so peaky today? I'd have thought a south would be long lines. Not complaining: easy paddles, many rides.
Posted by: klooThis typekey account thing is a pain. Yesterday it was pretty fun and small out at the Beach. Glassy, and the lowest tide i've ever seen out there. It was fun trying to pull into the small bowling peaks.
Forget about today. The winds are already on it.
Posted by: MSGOregon no ka oi!
Posted by: searoom