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The sport of surfing, having originated with Hawaiian royalty, by the late 1950's and early 1960's had been largely abandoned by Hawaiians. Surfers from the beaches of Southern California rediscovered the sport and some of these haole boys came to Hawaii to try their hand. I was one of the first of the locals to get hold of a board and join in. Some days our gang, made up of anywhere from 5 to 10 of us, would load into my car and head to Lahaina side or, when we were feeling really adventurous, the winter surf at Honolua Bay, on the northwest coast of Maui.
Honolua Bay, when it's up, is one of the most awesome experiences on the planet. Over 20-footers are common in the winter, when huge swells build up from somewhere near the Alaskan gulf and thrust themselves at the first land mass they encounter, the northern coast of the Hawaiian Islands.
Some of my great memories of Maui is of riding these monster waves, and of my buddies who rode the surf with me there: "Sly", "Snake", "Moon", Baxter, Willy, & Johnny.
This page last updated August 8, 1998