November 24th, 2011
Duke Kahanamoku’s surfboard
Photographer Joni Sternbach shared with us this beautiful photo of one of (the legendary) Duke Kahanamoku‘s surfboards…
We welled up just seeing this beautiful craft. ‘The Duke’ is one of our heroes. He is the embodiment of Hawaii’s famous aloha spirit, and one of the forefathers of surfing, and it’s revival in the early 20th century. To quote from our About page…
"In 1905, a teenager named Duke Kahanamoku and his friends began to gather under a hau (lowland) tree at Waikiki beach. Duke and his friends, who spent their days surfing, later created their own surfing club, Hui Nalu, or “The Club of the Waves.” By this time, the missionaries’ influence over the island had begun to decline, freeing up an avenue for the reintroduction of surfing in Hawaii. Duke and his friends later became known as the famous “Beach Boys of Waikiki” and are credited with the rebirth of surfing in Hawaii."
"Clubofthewaves.com was named in honour of Duke Kahanamoku and the “Beach Boys of Waikiki”, after their aloha spirit and passion for surfing, surf culture and the ocean environment."
To learn more about surfing legends like Duke Kahanamoku, check out our "Surf Culture" (and history) section for biographies of big wave gladiators, legends, pioneers, the history of surfing & surfboards and much more…