Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Hawaiian officials stand firm on Pipe Masters cancellation
The Hawaiians riposte was that this is a drop in the ocean compared to the billions in dollar revenue from tourism generally.
Of course, surfers know the issue goes deeper, and further back in time. When the row first erupted, a board member of the fiercely Hawaiian organisation Da Hui, Mahina Chillingworth, said they were happy the mayor was “sticking to the rules and not bending because of financial power”. She mentioned other contest applicants who dropped off their forms “a minute after the deadline, and were flat out denied”.
The Hui O He‘e Nalu has as its stated aim “to preserve and conserve Hawaii’s land, ocean and cul- ture for future generations from exploitation and over commercialisation”. The fearsome Eddie Rothman was one of the founders of the Da Hui in 1976. He and others wanted to stop the brash crop of foreign surfers, arriving with the newly professional tour, from swaggering into town with big egos and bad manners to over- run the best surf spots.
The ‘Bronzed Aussies’ – under the cheeky arrogance of a young Rabbit Bartholomew – were the main culprits, as told in Rabbit’s book Bustin’ Down the Door. Rothman and his heavies went on the rampage in the Hawaiian surf contest season of 1977, and blood flowed.
But the fight over the po‘ina nalu (surf zone) goes back even further to the early 1900s, a few years after the monarchy-ruled kingdom of Hawaii was annexed by the US in 1898, just as the Boer War threatened back in South Africa, also around colonialism.
And of course, racism later became a thing in Hawaii too. Within a few years, the “Outrigger Canoe Club a Haoles” cropped up in Waikiki. Yes, a whites-only surfing club. You can’t make this stuff up.
Olympic swimmer Duke Kahanamoku, with locals, competed openly against the haoles with his “Hui Nalu Canoe Club” in 1908 to regain their power – the source of the anti-haole sentiment.
Lets see what happens.
WSL Big Wave Tour Champion Twiggy Baker, 43, battled difficult waves to take fifth in the Nazare Challenge at Praia de Norte, Portugal this week. The third stop on the BWT was won by rising star Lucas Chianca, 21, from Brazil, who won all three heats he contested with a mix of outrageous moves more suited to small waves.
Solid 6-8 foot waves greeted more than 70 contestants at the Globe Llandudno Boardriders Shootout last weekend as they competed in five divisions: juniors, bodyboarding, open, masters and grand masters. The event was held in the corner of the beach known as the “Gat”, slang for gun, because of its hollow barrels and spray spitting like gunsmoke.
A fresh SE blows early today going moderate southerly. The 3-4’ swell running in False Bay will go to waste in a crumbly onshore. The other side looks 4-5’. Tomorrow, winds light to moderate NW as a weak front scrapes by, with maybe a few showers. Cloudy and cool. Muizenberg looks fun: offshore 2’. Some reefs on other side might be okay 2-4’.