Everybody on board

By Tanya Bricking Leach
Advertiser Staff Writer

Linda Tagawa catches a wave at her favorite break, Baby Queens, at Waikiki. Tagawa, a youthful 63, overcame her water fears and found harmony in surfing with the help of instructor Tammy Moniz. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

Tagawa, 63, a middle school special-needs teacher and writer (she contributed columns to The Advertiser for many years), said she couldn't make it this year.

She was going surfing.

Tagawa, mother of four grown children, signed up for surfing lessons as a gift to herself. Two months later, she's still going out with her instructor two or three times a week. And she's riding a wave of enthusiasm that is catching on in the surfing world.

This holiday weekend is sure to be proof that surf lineups in Hawai'i are crowded with a mix of generations and genders. Experienced surfers still head to the outside breaks to compete for waves. And on the inside waves of the most popular surf spots on any given day this summer, a couple of hundred tourists are likely to be taking lessons.

Locals new to the sport, such as Tagawa, are paddling out to see what the lure of the waves is all about.

"All my life I've wanted to surf by myself, but I never had the courage," said Tagawa, who's afraid of sharks. "Sometime within the last six months, I think my confidence was almost equal to my fear. Fear prevents you from doing things. You close up and you lose opportunities to do things. The way you grow is when you're ready to conquer your fear."

'Blue Crush' cult

"Sunset Suzy" Stewart, a former lifeguard who runs Sunset Suzy's surf school on the North Shore, attributes the fascination to exposure Hawai'i has gotten from movies such as "Blue Crush."

"It's almost created a 'Blue Crush' cult," said Stewart, 38, who was a background surfer in the movie and now has girls asking her to sign their DVDs. "They just want to surf the North Shore and find out where all the places in the movie are."

Her business is 98 percent tourists. She has mostly female instructors and a following of women who want to learn to surf from another woman.

On the South Shore, Tagawa also looked for gentle instruction from a woman. She found it in Tammy Moniz, wife of Tony Moniz, a former pro surfer who runs Faith Riding Co.

"When I started surfing 20 years ago, there were very few women in the water," Tammy Moniz said. "Now it's like half. It's best when we get the families out there."

Tagawa surfs alongside the Moniz children.

"She's become like a member of our family," Tammy Moniz said of the woman she used to tow in when Tagawa got too tired paddling. They worked their way up until Tagawa felt strong enough to go it alone. She would take her son's board to Ala Moana Beach and just paddle. Now she's thinking about training to compete. Her kids are impressed.

Instructors all over

When Tagawa was a kid, the beach-boy stands were about the only place to find a surfing lesson. The beach boys are still there, but you also can find surf schools operated by women, firefighters and those that cater to the Hollywood set.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources' Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation has issued about 150 commercial-operator permits to surf instructors on O'ahu, most of them in Waikiki.

There's Hans Hedemann, a "surf school of the stars," with clients such as Adam Sandler, Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, Charlize Theron and Bruce Springsteen. About 90 percent of the clientele is Japanese tourists, said Dean Ontai, a shuttle driver and surfer who helps with lessons.

"In the summertime, we have to turn away business," he said, because they're limited to 45 students a day.

Class sizes are limited now because the growth of surf schools has led beachfront communities such as the one at Tonggs surf break, near Kaimana/Sans Souci Beach, to complain about crowding.

"The beach is always going to be crowded when people are off work," said Jennifer Nuesca, a sales representative at C&K Beach Services, one of the beach-boy stands on the Waikiki strip. "We will supply the demand."

Nuesca understands the lure. She got hooked when her girls' volleyball team came surfing together. "My uncle helped us out and gave us pushes," she said — a trademark benefit of beach-boy surfing lessons.

Her own niche

Linda Tagawa, left, waits for the go-ahead from her surfing instructor, Tammy Moniz, during a lesson off Waikiki. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

She doesn't mind paddling around to find an uncrowded spot at her favorite break at Baby Queens. And she gets a thrill out of watching younger surfers.

Tagawa reinvented herself after a divorce in the 1980s and kidney cancer in the '90s. Today she's more health-conscious than many women half her age. She follows a fairly strict vegan diet and was motivated to try surfing partly because she has a back problem and wanted to strengthen her upper body. She also found weight-lifting boring.

"This is the hardest thing I've ever done," she said, but she's found the activity has been spiritual as well as challenging. She's stronger mentally and physically.

"I love it," she said. "I don't always stand. But I almost feel like I'm in harmony. When you stand on the board in the right place, it's like everything is perfect."

Reach Tanya Bricking Leach at tbricking@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8026.

Hanging 10 by the numbers

150: Number of state-certified surfing instructors on O'ahu.

73,000: If you conservatively estimate 200 people take surfing lessons each day in Hawai'i, this is how many people take lessons in a year.

More than 1,000: Number of yards legendary surfer Duke Kahanamoku rode in the summer of 1917 on a wave at Kalehuawehe, now called Outside Castles. The wave took him from all the way outside Castles, through Elk's Club, Cunha's and Queen's and all the way to the beach.

1: Number of times Mark Twain tried surfing when he was here. ("I got the board placed right and at the right moment, too; but missed the connection myself," he wrote in his 1866 book "Roughing It." "The board struck the shore in three-quarters of a second, without any cargo, and I struck the bottom about the same time, with a couple of barrels of water in me.")

(808) 596-7873: The phone number for the daily surf report to find out where the swells are.

The explosive growth in beginning surfers has led to crowding at popular spots like Kuhio Beach, off the Kapahulu Groin. Advertiser library photo • May 6, 2003

• Give the right of way when a surfer is already on the wave and closer to the peak. Dropping in or snaking — cutting off another surfer — is frowned upon.
• Hang onto your board. Not only will it be easier to learn to turn turtle and duck-dive, you won't risk having your board fly into someone behind you.
• When you're paddling out, be aware of riders who may be coming toward you on a wave. Try to get out of the way. Think about this before you paddle out, and choose a path away from the crowd.
• Avoid paddling out directly behind someone, as he or she might slow down to duck a wave or turn around and catch one.
• Always look where you're going and pull off the wave if you're about to run into someone.
• Respect other surfers, whether you're waiting for your turn in the lineup or learning the hierarchy of an unfamiliar surf spot.

Where to find lessons

You can go to one of the beach-boy stands in Waikiki and find lesson prices starting at $25, or you can look for a surf school. Here are some of the offerings on O'ahu. Most offer kama'aina discounts:

• Faith Riding Co. (www.faithriding.com): 728-4319. Run by former pro surfer Tony Moniz and his wife, it's a family-oriented surf school where lessons start at $75.
• Sunset Suzy (www.sunsetsuzy.com): 781-2692. This North Shore school has a lot to do with girl power. Nearly all of the instructors are women. Prices range from $65 to $85.
• Hawaiian Fire Surf School (hawaiianfire.com): 737-3473. Run by city and county firefighters, it offers small classes that focus on safety at Kalaeloa Beach at Barbers Point. It also caters to kids learning the sport. Lessons range from $97 to $139.
• North Shore Eco-surf Tours (www.ecosurf-hawaii.com): 638-9503. Owner Stan Van Voorhis' philosophy is to give tourists a low-key, environmentally friendly and memorable experience. Lessons range from $75 to $135.
• Hawaiian Watersports.com (www.hawaiianwatersports.com): 255-4352. These instructors try to get away from the crowds by surfing near Diamond Head. Lessons range from $65 to $85 for two-hour lessons and more for six and eight-hour lessons.
• Surf-N-Sea (www.surfnsea.com): 637-9887. Classes from this North Shore store and school range from basic to advanced. Beginner lessons are $69.
• Hans Hedemann Surfing School (www.hhsurf.com): 924-7778. At this surfing school with islandwide locations and a Hollywood draw, lessons start at $50 for a one-hour group lesson and go up to $1,210 for a private 10-day course.