In the late 1970s a handful of Hanalei surfers wishing to recapture the fun era of 1950s and 1960s longboarding held an impromptu surfboard contest at Pinetrees, a beachbreak surf spot about midway along the beach at crescent-shaped Hanalei Bay.
In the late 1970s a handful of Hanalei surfers wishing to recapture the fun era of 1950s and 1960s longboarding held an impromptu surfboard contest at Pinetrees, a beachbreak surf spot about midway along the beach at crescent-shaped Hanalei Bay.
The contest grew over the years as surfers returned in droves to riding longboards on Kaua’i and other surfing beaches across the globe. Some surfers ride both longboards and the potato-chip-thin shortboards of today. Others just focus on longboarding, honing skills in hanging five toes over the nose of the board, doing a “coffin” ride by laying down on the board as it zips across a wave and other 1960s-era tricks.
This weekend over 200 surfers celebrated the 25th anniversary of the contest, which is now one of the longest-running longboard contests in the world.
Highlighting the two-day event held Saturday and Sunday under sunny skies was a vintage surfboard contest, which drew enough surfers to fill eight heats, said Andy Melamed, one of the event’s organizers and co-announcer for the contest. The surfers in the special event drew lots to determine who would ride which of the six authentic 1960s-era boards. Unlike the lightweight modern longboards of today, the 40-some-year-old boards weighed between 20 and 40 pounds and required expert skills to maneuver in the two- to four-foot peeling Pinetrees shorebreak.
The fun vintage event harkened back to the spirit of the original contest, said surfboard maker Mark Sausen of Kilauea, comparing the event to the high-pressure competition generally found in modern-day surfing.
Melamed said over 1,000 spectators turned out for the opening rounds Saturday.
Surfers ranged in age from the Menehune division, 12 & under, to the Na Kupuna, 60 & over division. A girls 13-17 event and an open women’s event are part of the contest.
The event was dedicated to the memory of the late waterman Percy Kinimaka and late local surfer “Pee Wee” Giltner. An awards banquet was held Sunday night at Pinetrees.
