Posted on: Sunday, September 12, 2004
DeSoto brothers finish 1-2 in small Waikiki surf
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
A small day in the surf turned into a big day for the DeSoto family yesterday.
Bernie Baker • Special to The Honolulu Advertiser "After all these years of contests, it really made it worth it to watch the both of them in the final," said their mother, Cathy McCurnin. "It makes me feel really good that all that work turned into something successful for both of them."
The contest was held in inconsistent 1-foot waves at Kuhio Beach, Waikiki.
"You can't have good waves all the time," said Duane, 27. "There are so many contests, one of them was bound to be like this. But there's still strategy involved. No matter how small it is, you still have to find a wave and do what you can with it."
Because the waves were so small, Duane resorted to several trick maneuvers, including a head-stand on one of his waves.
"This probably wasn't the best example of a pro contest," he said. "But it was still worth doing. It ended up being fun."
"My brother was out there, so I wasn't nervous or anything," said Makamae, a 2004 Kahuku High graduate. "We went out there laughing."
McCurnin said she was cheering for her younger son during the final.
"Maka had a little more going against him, and Duane has won a lot of contests before," she said. "It would have been nice to see him win his first one, but I'm still happy with how it turned out."
Because of the age difference between the brothers, Duane has served as somewhat of a surfing mentor for Makamae.
"They were both raised in the water; they were on boards before they could walk," McCurnin said. "But Maka has wanted to follow in his brother's footsteps in so many ways. This is really good for him to show that he can do it, too."
Kai Sallas placed third and Keegan Edwards was fourth.
Many of the surfers grumbled that the contest should have been postponed because of the poor conditions. In the semifinals, Joey Valentin and Ned Snow did not catch any waves.
The decision to run through the final was made in the morning by contest officials. Time restraints also played a role in the decision.
As Makamae put it: "We were all out there in the same conditions. If they were going to call it off, they should have done it at the beginning. Once it started, the fair thing was to run it all the way."
The contest was the fifth, and final, event of the 2004 Steinlager Shaka Summer Series.
Duane won the last two contests in the series, but Kapono Nahina won the overall series championship. Nahina was awarded a spot in two upcoming North Shore events.
Most of the state's top pro longboard surfers compete in the series. All surfers must ride boards at least nine feet long.
The Ocean Club Pro-Am will continue today at Kuhio Beach with finals in the various amateur divisions.
Final results
Ocean Club Pro-Am
1, Duane DeSoto. 2, Makamae DeSoto. 3, Kai Sallas. 4, Keegan Edwards. 5 (tie), Kapono Nahina and Stanton Vierra. 7 (tie), Joey Valentin and Ned Snow.
Steinlager Shaka Summer Series
1, Kapono Nahina. 2, Scotty Fong Jr. 3, Kekoa Uemura. 4, Ned Snow. 5, Joey Valentin.
Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8101.
Duane DeSoto won the professional division of the Ocean Club Pro-Am longboard surfing contest, and younger brother Makamae placed second.
Duane DeSoto beat younger brother Makamae in small waves to win the Ocean Club Pro-Am.
Duane made the most of his waves in the 35-minute final. His best wave score of 5.83 was better than the two-wave scores of all the other three finalists. His two-wave total of 11.16 was more than double runner-up Makamae's two-wave total of 5.77.
Makamae, 18, was surfing in the final of a professional contest for the first time. He plans to become a full-time professional surfer next year.
