Under the shadow of Duke
Willi Edwards/Duke Kahanamoku, still inspiring after all these years.
Duke Paoa Kahanamoku
Waikiki is a playground. It used to be marshland and taro fields before the 1900s. Hence the name Waikiki, which translates to “spouting water.” While Waikiki doesn’t grow taro anymore, it has a long history of producing world-class athletes and wave riders. Duke Paoa Kahanamoku is arguably the most prominent on the list of great Waikiki watermen. The Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Foundation puts on the annual Duke’s OceanFest games to raise money for athlete college scholarships. This 5-day event brings together old friends, new friends, families, legends and visitors all to honor The Duke with ocean games in Waikiki. Here is a re-cap of the waters off Waikiki — a playground to all this past week.
Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2010, 6:15 p.m. (Outrigger Canoe Club):
It’s the 120th birthday of Duke Paoa Kahanamoku. He is being posthumously inducted into the Hawaii Waterman Hall of Fame. His enduring legacy is felt through the Hawaii Waterman Hall of Fame, Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Foundation and Duke’s OceanFest. Kahanamoku, Rell Sunn, Eddie Aikau, Buffalo Keaulana, Nappy Napoleon, Wally Froiseth, Rabbit Kekai, Keo Nakama and Fred Hemmings are the inaugural class of the Hawaii Waterman Hall of Fame. In the waning years of Kahanamoku’s life Sen. Hemmings worked as his assistant. Kimo McVey, who started Duke’s restaurant and the original Duke’s Surf Team, made a young, Sen. Hemmings Kahanamoku’s personal grommet.
Willi Edwards/What would a South Shore oceanfest be without a few lovely ladies curling their toes over the nose?
Kahanamoku has a long list of athletic accomplishments as an Olympic swimmer and surfer, but Sen. Hemmings is most impressed by Duke’s endearing character and integrity. One of Sen. Hemmings’ favorite stories about Kahanamoku is when the Duke was winning a swim race and intentionally slowed down to not humiliate the competition.”Duke was like most successful athletes — very gifted physically,” explained Hemmings. “Motivation. Character. Honor. Most good athletes are good people. Duke was probably first and foremost that: a very honorable competitor.”
Wednesday, Aug. 23, 10:45 a.m. (Star Beach Boys Beach Stand):
Like the Duke, Megan Abubo grew up in Waikiki. The 2008 Vans Triple Crown of Surfing women’s champion lived off of Kapahulu Ave. for her first 14 years. Flash forward to the 2010 Duke’s OceanFest — where Abubo conducts lifestyle interviews for the live Oceanic Times Warner telecast of Duke’s OceanFest. For the former WCT surfer this gig is a trip down memory lane. “To come back to Waikiki it really makes me feel like a kid again,” said Abubo. “A lot of the beachboys taught me how to surf, so it makes me feels like I’m paying back respect to the people that taught me how to surf.”
Willi Edwards/North Shore legend Jock Sutherland and son Gavin.
Julie Whitegon, from Encinitas California would go on to win the 2010 Gidget Pro. Abubo lost in the quarterfinals, but the real joy for her was seeing a lot of old-time friends and family at the Duke’s OceanFest.
Thursday, Aug. 26, 3:47 p.m. (in front of Plumeria Sun tent): “The people,” replied Pipeline pioneer Jock Sutherland, 61, when asked what was his favorite part of competing in the Hawaiian Airlines Duke Legends Surf Classic. “Being in the ocean of course where Duke used to surf, we got a couple of waves and that’s a bonus, but the people from all over the world and especially the people from Hawaii that you only see once in awhile is great.”
Friday, Aug. 27, 6:37 p.m. (Duke’s OceanFest mainstage):
Kamu Auwae made a clean sweep at Duke’s Ocean Fest by winning the C4 Waterman SUP Surf-Off open division and the Kicker Audio presents Toes On the Nose Rabbit Kekai Hawaiian Longboard Classic. The 30-year-old, Makaha local surfed brilliantly all week at Duke’s Ocean Feast in front of his wife and newborn baby boy.
Willi Edwards/Master of the paddle Kamu Auwae in route to taking out the SUP division.
“It’s just an added bonus,” said Auwae of winning the C4 Waterman SUP Surf-Off. “It’s been a long three days and it was hard work getting here because you had to qualify through the race.”
There were 24 total competitors (18 men, 3 women and 3 kids) in the C4 Waterman SUP Surf-Off yesterday. They qualified through an intense stand-up paddle race at Duke’s OceanFest on Thursday. This race was a spectator-friendly event because non-surfers and tourists could clearly follow the action in the race. While that was a nod to the past beach boy races, the C4 Waterman SUP Surf-Off was a display of stand-up paddle surfing’s future. According to Auwae, the judges rewarded more for turns and cutbacks verses traditional noseriding.
Auwae won $150 for the SUP first place and $2500 for beating a Duane DeSoto, Kai Sallas and Keegan Edwards in the pro longboard final. According to Auwae, this victory was really special because he always wanted win this contest. What made this win even more special was his eight-week-old baby boy’s first full day at the beach.”I just got my new son, he just arrived two months ago, and to be here with him at the beach and see him is just an extra bonus,” said Auwae. “I’ll always remember this.”
Willi Edwards/Ready, set, stroke.
Saturday, Aug. 28, 6 p.m. (Queens):
Honolulu’s Eric Nilsson and Kathryn Taylor won the Duke’s Waikiki Ocean Mile Swim. The University of Hawaii swim team — whose home pool is the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic complex — also competed in this event. The oldest competitor in this Duke’s Oceanfest race was David James, 77, and the youngest was Luke Schwab, 9. There were 350 competitors in the Duke’s Waikiki Ocean Mile Swim — the most in Duke’s OceanFest nine-year history. These swimmers are paying homage to Duke Kahanamoku’s illustrious swimming career. The Duke’s stats in swimming are staggering. Duke is widely recognized as the inventor of the flutter kick and was an Olympic swimmer, representing the United States in the pool 20-years. At 21, the Duke won his first gold medal and set a world record in the 100-meter freestyle at the 1912 Stockholm games. He also won a silver medal as a member of the 200-meter relay team. Kahanamoku won another two gold medals in the 1920 Antwerp Olympics: breaking his world record in the 100-meter freestyle and setting another world record with the U.S. freestyle relay team. He was awarded the silver medal for the 100-meter free-style at the 1924 Paris Olympics. At 41 years old, in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, Duke Kahanamoku, as an alternate, helped the U.S. water polo team win a bronze medal.
2010 Duke’s OceanFest Results:
Kicker Audio Presents Toes On the Nose Rabbit Kekai Hawaiian Longboard Classic: Kamu Auwae (Makaha)
Gidget Pro Longboard: Julie Whitegon (Encinitas, CA)
Cabana’s Pool Bar & Nashville Waikiki Tandem Surfing Championship: Chuck Innman and Tiffany Rabacal (Waikiki)
C4 Waterman SUP Surf-Off: Kamu Auwae
Outrigger Hotels & Resorts Surf Polo Tournament: Wahoo’s Hawaiian Island Team
Corona Beach Volleyball Championships presented by Outrigger Hotels and Resorts winning team: Stein Metzger, Curt Vaughn, Dustin Chun and Flavia
Hawaii Paddleboard Championships presented by Maui Jim’s top finishers: Connor Baxter (men) 1:26:05, Kaneesa Duncan (women) 1:40:36
Duke’s Waikiki Ocean Mile Swim: Eric Nilsson (men) 19:50, Kathryn Taylor (women) 22:58
Hawaiian Airlines Duke Legends Surf Classic winning team: Rainbow Drive-In (Donald Takayama, Gilbert Kawamoto, Ivan Harada, Dino Miranda and Bonga Perkins)
ESPN Sports
-
SURFSPOTS-GPS
BIG WAVE eXtreme surfing
International News Magazine
