Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 20, Number 9, 1 September 2003 — Getting back to surfing's cultural roots [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Getting back to surfing's cultural roots

By Derek Ferrar Surfing enthusiasts will be able to take a journey back into the sport's cultural past this fall with the inauguration of the Hawaiian Longboard Federation's 01d Hawai'i Wooden Surfboard Series, intended to highlight the use of solid wood boards shaped in traditional Hawaiian styles. "With modern surfing becoming so competitive and commercialized, we wanted to get back to what surfing is really about culturally," says HLF director Diane Johnson. "Our whole idea is to do something fun that also offers an opportunity to teach about the cultural aspects of surfing, and to teach it in the way the Hawaiians would — by doing it." Event participants will surf on boards shaped in several traditional styles by renowned waterman and UH Hawaiian studies instructor Tom "Pōhaku" Stone. In addition, a documentary film is being made about the project. "It's been a dream of mine to help people look at surfing from a truly native perspective," Pōhaku

explains. "It's about developing a sense of appreciation for how mueh went into it, from cutting and moving the tree to shaping these huge, heavy boards by hand, and the sheer strength it took to surf them. It required the effort of the entire community." Depending on style, the boards, made from such native woods as wiliwili and kamani, ean measure 12 feet or longer and weigh as mueh as 150 pounds. Since the boards laek the modernday fins added for steering, riders must maneuver them using the traditional technique of dragging a foot in the water. Riding them is "like stepping back in time," says Pōhaku, who admits he has had a hard time getting the hang of the ancient style. "It's not as easy as people think; you really have to put your body into it." The first traditional-board event will take plaee on Oct. 18 and 19 at Queen's break in Waikīkī. Subsequent events are scheduled for Launiupoko Beach in Lahaina on Nov. 8 & 9 and Keauhou Bay, Kona, on February 7 and 8. The HLF is still seeking funding for the traditional board project. For information, eall 263-2444. ■

Tom "Pōhaku" Stone shapes a wiliwili log by hand into a traditional Elawaiian longboard. Photo courtesy of Hawaiian Longboard Federation,