Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 11, Number 9, 1 September 1994 — Papakōlea Surf Team rides life's big waves [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Papakōlea Surf Team rides life's big waves

by Jeff Clark "We were just a bunch of guys going surfing together" at Sand Island after school, remembers Mel Apana. That was around 1965, when George Puaoi and six or seven other Papakōlea kids formed their own surf club. Although the members of the Papakōlea Surf Team liked to compete in eontests, the group was loosely structured, the only "meetings" taking plaee in the water while they waited for waves between sets. They stayed active through the '70s and forged on into the '80s, but when Puaoi moved onto his new homestead lot in Anahola, Kaua'i, the club became less visible. Until 1992. The idea to revive the team eame to a group of dripping wet Papakōlea surfers who had just emerged from the oeean at Kaiser's and were standing in the parking lot at the Diamond Head end of the Ala Wai Boat Harbor. With a major surf meet looming just a week ahead, the group was able to, within days, secure sponsorship, print T-shirts and enter a dozen surfers in the contest. "We didn't do too bad," remembers Kaleihau Kamau'u, "but perhaps most important was the feeling of coming together as Hawaiians from Papakōlea and doing something positive. "lt's all about just coming together and having good fun. We no more the best surfers. ..." Kamau'u says, but they do have more than 40 members, men, women, boys and girls ranging in age from 9 to over 50. Although some have moved away from the old homestead, all have deep connections to Papakōlea. This year the team missed entering China's Longboard Surf Contest, but they entered the previous two years (in 1993 with partial support from OHA) and are sure to be there next year.

They're also looking at entering members in body boarding meets, and are active in bodysurfing contests, as well. "Da kine (contests) we like get into is the kind of meets that benefit" different community organ i z a t i o n s , Kamau'u says. But in the end, maybe competition doesn't matter as mueh as participating in a healthy, fun and legal activity with origins in the Hawaiian eulture. "Drugs, aleohol and gangs are a problem in all areas, and Papakōlea is no different. 1 know first hand what these things ean do in a

person's life. Over the years I've seen how they have impacted our community," says Kamau'u. "The surf team is an attempt by us guys to make something better for us guys." "We try to influence the 'ōpio — this is for them actually," says Apana, now a 44-year-old eonstruction supervisor. They try to convey to the kids that there are other places to see and visit in Honolulu besides Papakōlea, and to encourage them to peep out of whatever box life has created for them and encounter the world outside. Whieh brings to mind the team's motto: Out of the caves, and back into the waves. "Some people, they eall this community and this area the cave," Apana says of the homestead. "Rather than just staying in

the cave and being like a caveman. ... the surf team is just another foothold toward getting these guys out of this area, and doing something else. A lot of guys up here tend to stagnate. ... in all these communities you have stagnation with latchkey kids and families with single parents and drugs and substance abuse. ... and surfing and watersports give them some other avenue to find some sort of activities for after school that will keep 'em out of mischief, keep 'em focused on the values of life, and have some kind of selfesteem." The members of the Papakōlea Surf Team remain a team even when they're away from the oeean. They have undertaken various community projects when up

ma uka. For instance, they did a major elean-up of a neglected pieee of Kalāwahine property in the homestead near Tantalus Drive that had fallen prey to overgrown bush, dumped trash and abandoned autos. The team had the vehicles removed and on Kamehameha Day 1993 went in with blow torches, ehain saws and other equipment to reclaim the field for the homesteaders. The team also resurrected the homestead's annual ho'olaule'a in honor of Prince Kūhiō's birthday. They have helped arrange educational meetings and workshops with the Hawaiian Home Lands Action Network. Team members also testified at the Legislature and the Honolulu City Council on bills relating to homesteads and homesteaders,

and last year pushed the city to install a bus shelter on the Papakōlea route. What's more, team members have visited publie schools to talk about surfing. It's been a long time since Puaoi and Apana and the boys formed the original team. The oldtimers are still around but aren't as active as before — "they're mostly active in their family lives," Apana says, laughing. Their dedication to the team's survival continues. "I really believe in this thing," Kamau'u says. "This is one of the few activities that we have up there that is an alternative to just hanging out. A lot of the younger guys look up to the older guys, so just hope we ean be a positive influence on them."

Members of the Papakolea Surf Team along with friends and supporters. Photo courtesy Papakōlea Surf Team