Duke Kahanamoku
(Honolulu, 24 agosto 1890 – Honolulu, 22 gennaio 1968)

Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku è stato un nuotatore, surfista e attore statunitense.
Detto The big Kahuna (in lingua hawaiiana kahuna indica una persona importante della comunità), fu campione olimpico di nuoto ed è genericamente considerato l'inventore del surf moderno. In quanto primogenito, Duke (che in inglese significa duca) ricevette il nome del padre. A sua volta il padre alla nascita, nel 1869 era stato chiamato così in onore del Duca di Edimburgo che proprio quell'anno visitava ufficialmente le Hawaii. Quando Duke divenne conosciuto in tutto il mondo per le sue vittorie olimpiche, a causa del suo nome diversi giornalisti ipotizzarono un discendenza nobile, ma alle domande della stampa Duke si limitava a rispondere: "Mio padre è un poliziotto." Fin da giovanissimo, come tutti i bambini hawaiani, Duke ha una predilezione per l'oceano. La scuola che frequenta è a due passi dal mare e finite le lezioni va in acqua a nuotare ed inizia a surfare con una primitiva tavola che lui chiamerà la sua papa nui. Nel periodo tra le competizioni olimpiche e successivamente al ritiro dalle competizioni, Duke compie diversi viaggi, particolarmente negli Stati Uniti e in Australia, partecipando a gare di nuoto dimostrative. Fu durante questo periodo che egli diffuse al di fuori delle Hawaii il surf, proponendolo durante le sue esibizioni. Durante il suo soggiorno in California, Duke interpretò anche alcuni film ad Hollywood, aumentando così ancor di più la sua popolarità e quella del nuoto e del surf.

Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku was a Hawaiian competition swimmer who was also known as an actor, lawman, early beach volleyball player and businessman credited with spreading the sport of surfing.
Kahanamoku was a five-time Olympic medalist in swimming. "Duke" was not a title or a nickname, but a given name. He was named after his father, Duke Halapu Kahanamoku, who was christened by Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop in honor of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, who was visiting Hawaii at the time. The younger Duke, as eldest son, inherited the name. His father was a policeman. His mother Julia Paʻakonia Lonokahikina Paoa was a deeply religious woman with a strong sense of family ancestry. When Duke became a household name due to his swimming feats, many people thought he was of Hawaiian royalty. It was assumed by many that he was a duke and that it was his title. He was a very modest and unassuming man who got a chuckle of being thought of as royalty and never hesitated to set the record straight about his lineage. His parents were from prominent Hawaiian families; the Kahanamoku and the Paoa clans were considered to be kaukaualiʻis,[3] lower-ranking chiefs or nobles, who were of service to the aliʻi nui or royalty.[4] His grandfather Kahanamoku and grandmother Kapiolani Kaoeha[ were kahu, retainers and trusted advisors of the Kamehamehas.

 

MIKI DORA
(11 August 1934, Budapest, Hungary - 3 January 2002, Montecito, California)

Miki "Da Cat" Dora, a.k.a. Mickey Dora, a.k.a. "The Black Knight," was an iconic Malibu surfer of the 1950s and 1960s. He had a unique style, in and out of the water, and was generally considered rather iconoclastic. He is featured in the seminal surf movie The Endless Summer, and is credited in several beach party films - specifically Beach Party (1963), Surf Party (1964), Muscle Beach Party (1964), Bikini Beach (1964), Beach Blanket Bingo (1965), Ski Party (1965) and How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965).
Dora was introduced to surfing by his father, Miklos, in the late 1930’s: "Mr. Dora returned and invited us into the den where the walls were covered with photos. Pointing to an image on the wall, he explained the young boy and young man in surf trunks standing on the sand in front of a bluff. "Here I am with Miki on our first day at San Onofre in 1940. Miki is six in the photo." Surprised, Munoz asks, "Did you surf?" Miklos answers, "Oh, yes. I wasn't ever that good, but I frequented the Cove and San Onofre back in the '30s and '40s. I took Miki to the Cove for his first surf at age four."
At the height of his surfing popularity, he decided to flee the U.S. in 1970 after a warrant was issued against him for credit card and check fraud. He traveled around the globe surfing for a living before returning to California in 1973 and facing probation, which he broke. He was in and out of jail twice and spent much of his later years in France. He resurfaced in the documentary Surfers: The Movie (1990) and became the subject of his own film In Search of da Cat (1996) (TV).
As paradoxical and unpredictable on dry land as he was consistently brilliant in the water, he led the charge of Californian surfers during this period. He was the perfect antidote to the clean-cut All American image the surfing establishment was attempting to cultivate – arrogant and aggressive, he shunned competitions and media coverage (although he wasn’t above decrying these “vices” in the media. And sometimes at competitions), making his elegance and skill in the water an even sharper contrast to his troubled personality.
Dora was the creator and prodigy of the Malibu Mystique, high-performance pioneer, standard bearer of the surf rebel, prophet of surfing's apocalypse and angry icon to an ever-expanding audience he unwittingly helped to create...Mickey Dora has led a life dedicated to the ultimate free ride. Yet, in many ways, Dora has paid a high price for his philosophies of freedom: harassment and incarceration, gossip, notoriety and blatant commercial rip-offs have proved to be a relentless nemesis. He dropped off the public surf scene in 1974. “Real secrets will get you dead. I always forget to remember anything. I am a waterlogged, sun-baked old surf bum and that act always ends the inquisition. I wanted to be left alone. So I left alone. Now I don’t want anything.” Miki Dora died on January 3, 2002, at age 67.

 

 

Eddie Aikau
(Kahului, Hawaii, May 4, 1946–March 17, 1978)

Edward Ryon Makuahanai Aikau è stato uno dei più noti surfisti hawaiiani. Come primo bagnino ufficiale della baia di Waimea sull'isola di Oahu salvò molte vite, e divenne famoso per surfare le grandi onde hawaiane vincendo numerose competizioni, compresa un'edizione del 1977 del famoso contest Duke Kahanamoku Invitational Surfing Championship. Nato a Kahului, a Maui, Aikau era il terzo dei figli di Solomon ed Henrietta Aikau. Imparò a surfare nel porto di Kahului. Si è trasferito sull'isola di Oahu con la sua famiglia nel 1959, e all'età di 16 anni lascia la scuola per lavorare in un conservificio di ananas; la paga permette ad Aikau di acquistare la sua prima tavola da surf personale. Nel 1968 diventa il primo bagnino assunto dalla contea di Honolulu per lavorare sulla costa nord. La contea diede incarico ad Aikau di pattugliare le spiagge tra Pūpūkea e Haleiwa. Non ci fu alcuna vittima in mare durante il suo servizio nella baia di Waimea, con Aikau che non si poneva problemi ad affrontare onde di 30 piedi e oltre, e nel 1971 venne nominato bagnino dell’anno. Nel 1978 una società polinesiana cercava volontari per un viaggio di oltre 4000 km da affrontarsi in 30 giorni, per ripercorrere le tracce delle antiche migrazioni tra le Hawaii e l'arcipelago di Tahiti. A 31 anni Aikau si unisce alla ciurma della Hokulea, e 'imbarcazione salpa dalle Hawaii il 16 marzo del 1978. Lo scafo inizia a imbarcare acqua su di un lato e si capovolge a 19 km dall'isola di Molokai. Per cercare soccorso, Aikau tenta di raggiungere Lanai nuotando sulla sua tavola da surf.[6] Mentre il resto della ciurma venne recuperato da una corvetta della guardia costiera, Aikau sembra sparito. Si era tolto il giubbino di salvataggio sulla tavola da surf per facilitare la nuotata. La ricerca di Aikau è stata la più grande operazione di ricerca aerea della storia delle Hawaii, ma il corpo del surfista non è stato mai ritrovato.

Edward Ryon Makuahanai Aikau was a well-known Hawaiian lifeguard and surfer. As the first lifeguard at Waimea Bay on the island of Oahu, he saved many lives and became famous for surfing the big Hawaiian surf, winning several awards including the 1977 Duke Kahanamoku Invitational Surfing Championship. Born in Kahului, Maui, Aikau was the third child of Solomon and Henrietta Aikau. Aikau first learned how to surf at Kahului Harbor on its shorebreak. He moved to Oʻahu with his family in 1959, and at the age of 16 left school and started working at the Dole pineapple cannery; The paycheck allowed Aikau to buy his first surfboard. In 1968, he became the first lifeguard hired by the City & County of Honolulu to work on the North Shore. The City & County of Honolulu gave Aikau the task of covering all of the beaches between Sunset and Haleiwa. Not one life was lost while he served as lifeguard of Waimea Bay, as he braved waves that often reached 30 feet (9.1 m) high or more. In 1971, Aikau was named Lifeguard of the Year. In 1978, the Polynesian Voyaging Society was seeking volunteers for a 30 day, 2,500-mile (4,000 km) journey to follow the ancient route of the Polynesian migration between the Hawaiian and Tahitian island chains. At 31 years of age, Aikau joined the voyage as a crew member. The Hokule'a left the Hawaiian islands on March 16, 1978. The double-hulled voyaging canoe developed a leak in one of the hulls and later capsized about twelve miles (19 km) south of the island of Molokai. In an attempt to get help, Aikau paddled toward Lanai on his surfboard.[6] Although the rest of the crew was later rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Cape Corwin, Aikau was never seen again. He removed his lifejacket since it was hindering his paddling of the surfboard. The ensuing search for Aikau was the largest air-sea search in Hawaiian history.