I've seen a few around here. There was a guy on a foiled surfboard with a motor :eek: Now I've seen everything. But I just enjoy a slow thoughtful paddle. I like looking down at the fish or gently prodding a stingray with the paddle.

My thanks too to Tweez for starting this thread, and to the many surfers (esp Baz) for keeping it going over the years. There's obviously a special kinship between we ocean lovers on Pelican, even though it was our favorite marque that led us here. Something about slicing through the water, especially when riding swells & breakers ..

Growing up on Oahu, the ocean has always been part of my life. As a kid, I kept a surfboard in a Waikiki locker right in front of Canoe's surf break. Big for my age, I was recruited at 10 for Hawaiian canoe racing on Waikiki Beach by Rabbit Kekai, which led to a long and warm relationship with a Hawaii legend. I was only one of hundreds of kids mentored by Rabbit, and he remembered every one of us by name for all of his life. In the '60s, Rabbit was quoted in a mag interview declaring surfing to be on par with sex. With the constant flow of coeds to Waikiki, he did a lot of both.

After over a decade of no canoe paddling, I've recently ordered a 1-man, specifically for downwind coast runs, in which you can connect swell after swell, practically doubling your speed. Portlock to Waikiki will be our main run.

A week ago, my wife and I borrowed this 2-man canoe to paddle my Mom's ashes out to sea, joining my Dad off Diamond Head .. and when my time comes, the kids know where to take me .. back to the sea.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1563553861.jpg

Condolences on the loss of your Mom, Geary.

Thanks for sharing this with us.

Much love and hugs.....

Thank you, Brother Baz .. I know we'll ride some waves together one day soon ..

I'm with you too Geary on your moms passing. Nice vessel to help transport her on her way.

Speaking of canoes, I just bumped into Nick Beck. He has just returned from Wellington NZ. Bills neighborhood, Where he is having some four man canoes built for sale here in Hawaii.
Four are in shipment now.

I'm now wondering if they might be sailing canoes.
Coming soon to waters near you.

Geary once you get into that swell surfing, it won't be long before the Molokai channel race is calling you.

Cool that you got to spend time with Rabbit. Quite the waterman ohana down at Waikiki beach.

Cheers Richard

Solid 8 ' at J Bay today for the semifinals .
Hope you guys can watch or are recording this.

Medina vs Andino on now. Toledo up next.possibly vs Ziets.

Toledo will be amazing to watch in this new swell

Cheers Richard

Correction Toledo vs Ferreira, the Brazilians are a big presents on the tour these days!

Mahalo, Richard .. Mom made it to just 3 days shy of 95, so a long and fulfilling life.

Interesting about Nick's canoes. What we need is a light 4-man, as those patterned after the Hawaiian 6-man are rather heavy. The 21-pound "Ares" that I ordered will be Hawaii-made, even though Kai Wa'a now has them made in China. (Somehow that didn't sit well with me.) There's a bit of a connection, as Kai was married to an old surf partner's daughter for a number of years. He told me the top 20 Molokai finishers were using his Ares model, as it really surfs well.

No Molokai for this old man. In the '90s, I was doing a fair bit of interisland on my Yamaha Waverunner (Maui-Lanai-Molokai), and I'd run over to camp out with the Boyz and photograph the first few miles of their race.

The poor girls just trying to get out to the starting line for their 2012 race:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1563574937.jpg

1950s shot of Rabbit @ Makaha
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1563574063.jpg

Yikes, tuff go out for the girls!
Rabbit in his prime. What a lifetime of surfing.

Check out Holopuni canoes.

https://www.thegardenisland.com/2002/03/07/news/beck-sailing-along-aboard-holopuni/

Some cool videos of a race in Tahiti with them.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7vqoN05rWbI

The J Bay final, best waves of the contest, best surfing of the week too, wow!

Cheers Richard

Mahalo again, Richard .. That second link is dynamite .. a very nice looking sailing canoe. I'm going to ask a young Kailua friend (canoe fanatic) to go in on one with me.

Nick must have moved from Kauai to Truckee right after I moved from Truckee to Bend a few years ago ..

Coincidentally, the surf buddy I mentioned was winning most of the inter-island sailing canoe races during the '90s, teamed up with Cappie Sheelie. We did a couple Maui-Molokai-Lanai camping trips with his sailing canoe during those years, and the first 1-day Maui-around Kahoolawe-Maui paddle/sail that we know of.

.. pretty sure Mike was born with gills : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Spalding Funny thing, we couldn't get him to come out for canoe paddling when we were teenagers ..

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1563576122.jpg

My own little keiki, trying out the sport for the first time.

Sorry for the loss of your Mom.

And not a bad place at all to end up for eternity.

Yes I also love hearing things ocean and surfing.

Thanks, Bill .. Many fond memories of surfing NZ. 18 years ago I left an Ole longboard (just like these) at my friend's home overlooking Karekare beach ..

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1563593050.jpg

(Left an ex-wife there too .. my only unpleasant memory of NZ ;^ )
.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1563574937.jpg

Speaking in our quaint local dialect ; Chit!

Ha, went out to Karekare as GF's cousin lives n the hills there. Great place and a bit more forgiving paddle out than Piha.

Special picture there Noah! Nice momento at least, A classic treasure if she goes on to a life of enjoying surfing.

Cheers Richard

Perfect form for a first-time surfer :^ )

Geary you might want to touch in with Nick if you and your friend are interested.
He has four boats on their way up from N Z at this time, and Is taking orders for the next shipment.

He did say that these boats are four man boats, so maybe a new generation design.
They are sleak looking and in some of the videos have cam cleats mounted for ease of sail handeling. The molded decks with individual positions look well thought out. I'm wondering if there can be skirts fitted for those.

If my experence while doing year long rebuild of Tevake in N Z is an indicator, these boats will likely be very well built. They are very into composite building down there.

Would be interesting to see the ones that are on there way now.

I read that he is planning a race for later this summer in Hanalei.

Cheers Richard

Thank you SO much for the lead, Richard .. If I can interest my friend in going 50/50 on one, I'll be contacting Nick for sure. NZ builds are well known for their high quality. Would be sweet to have this in my buddy's back yard on Kaneohe Bay ..

Excellent coverage of the 2012 Molokai race, carnage & all ..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZrnbrFCk4k

Reef Break - 10 PM Thurs. nights on ABC
 

EDIT: Yikes this pic is 4 times the size of the one I DL'd...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1563665225.jpg

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8892926/

Don't expect much... it'll remind you a little of the current Hawaii Five-0. Miz Toe and I tried it out this week.

It opened with Montgomery coming out of the surf carrying her board. I enjoy trying to figure out where shows are filmed, and I noticed it didn't look like Hawaii with a shot of Diamond Head in the background.

Then the first shot of the interior of a vehicle being driven... RHD... being driven on the right side of the road... so, Australia, right?

Not so fast... NO ONE spoke with an Aussie accent throughout the entire episode. Goofy. No clue as to where it could be... one location in the plot was described as "a U.S. protectorate." A Lieutenant Governor was a central character, so that implied it was Hawaii? No.

Filmed in Gold Coast, Queensland... I looked on IMDb.com later that night. Just summer fun... you may enjoy it for what it is.