He`e
nalu - #6 Oahu North Shore Series
This purpose of this
cache is to recognize the history of surfing and to take you to one
of the most famous and dangerous surf spots in the
world!
Historians regard Hawaii as the
birthplace of surfing. Ancient religious chants mention
he`e nalu (translated wave sliding) and there are even
Hawaiian petroglyphs that depict surfing figures. While
surfing is said to have been brought to Hawaii around A.D. 1000 by
the Tahitians, the art of surfing upright on long boards was
certainly perfected if not invented in Hawai'i. At that time,
surfboards were made of hardwood tree trunks. Ali`i (nobles)
used the long boards (up to 16 feet long), and commoners made do
with short boards. The kahuna, or priests, blessed the new
boards, which were highly prized.
Hawaiian petroglyph of a
surfer.
One of the first written records
of surfing came from Lieutenant James King, an officer in Captain
Cook’s crew, who wrote about a group of wave riders that he saw at
the Big Island’s Kealakekua Bay in 1778. He described them as
“almost amphibious” in the way they were able to ride the swells on
boards six to eight feet long without getting dashed into the
rocks. Other visitors observed that surfing was an integral
part of daily life for Hawaiians.
Early Artistic Representation of Surfing in
Bishop Museum Archive
The arrival of Calvinist
missionaries in Hawaii in 1820 led to a significant setback for
surfing. The missionaries labeled surfing as a nonproductive, and
even immoral activity. By 1892, surfing had all but
disappeared in Hawaii. In 1905, a teenager named Duke Kahanamoku and
his friends began spending their days surfing and later created
their own surfing club. 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. Duke
Kahanamoku became world-famous when he won a gold medal for
swimming in the 1912 Olympics, and he made use of his new-found
fame to promote the sport he loved all over the world. By the
1960s, surfing was inextricably associated with Hawaii, its appeal
captured in the classic surfing film The Endless Summer
(1966), where surfers searched “for that perfect wave which may be
forming just over the next horizon.”
The Banzai Pipeline, or simply
"Pipeline" or "Pipe", is a surf break located off Ehukai Beach Park
on O'ahu's North Shore. It is the home to some of the world's
top surfing competitions including the Pipe Masters (Board
Surfing), the IBA Pipeline Pro (Bodyboarding), and the Pipeline
Bodysurfing Classic.
As far as we can tell (from our
limited sources), the name "Banzai Pipeline" is a combination of
the name of the surf break (Pipeline) with the name of the beach
fronting it (Banzai Beach). One source stated that the phrase
“Banzai” was given to this beach in 1961 when Bruce Brown, a famous
surf cinematographer, shouted out "Banzai" as Phil Edwards took off
on a monster wave. According to another source, the
"Pipeline" piece came in December of that year when surfing movie
producer Bruce Brown was driving the North Shore with California
surfers Phil Edwards and Mike Diffenderfer. Brown stopped at
the then-unnamed site to film Edwards catching several waves. At
the time, there was a construction project on a underground
pipeline on adjacent Kamehameha Highway, and Diffenderfer made the
suggestion to name the break Pipeline.
Documentary
producer, Stacy Peralta calls
the Banzai Pipeline "the most recognizable wave in the world,
the most dangerous and without doubt the most significant
wave in surfing history," Pipeline is also often called
the world's deadliest wave, since more people have died
there, or have been seriously injured, than at any other surf
spot.
The cache is
hidden near "Moe's Place" at Ehukai Beach Park. We believe
Moe's Place is a memorial to Jon Mozo, the well-known Hawai'ian
photographer, cinematographer and surfer who lost his life at
Pipeline. Whatever the case may be, it is a beautiful spot to
check out Banzai Pipeline and the great sport of surfing! We
hope you enjoy it!