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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Sunday, May 29, 2005

Duke's spirit rides along on first surfing safari

By Ka'ohua Lucas

"Cowabunga!" was the first word my eldest shouted as he rode in on the wave.

His dad had decided to introduce him to surfing at the tender age of 2. I thought it a grand idea. I wanted my kids to become ma'a (familiar with the ocean).

So 13 years ago, my husband decided to take our 2-year-old on his first surfing safari. The south shore swell was pumping. Dad snapped a miniature-sized life jacket onto our toddler.

He explained to our son that there were going to be a lot of big waves. If he were to somehow fall off the board, the life jacket would help keep him afloat.

"Don't forget to dog-paddle, OK?" my husband said.

Our tow-headed boy nodded his head vigorously.

Now any other child might feel a bit apprehensive, maybe even petrified, in knowing that he could be swallowed up by 3- to 4-foot waves.

But the expression on our son's cherub face was as if he had walked into a candy store and had been told he could choose whatever he wanted.

My husband paddled out to one of his favorite surf spots, Tonggs. He had to pass Castles, which had a good number of surfers lined up.

In ancient times, Castles was known as Kalehuawehe, or the removed lehua flower.

There is a mo'o ka'ao, or tale, that describes a young man named Pi'ikoi who would often surf there. One day, he went to the surf spot adorned with a lehua lei. While surfing, he met a chiefess whom he admired. He removed his lehua lei and draped it around her neck.

Since then, the surf spot has been known as Kalehuawehe.

The name was later changed to Castles because the Castle family owned a prominent beachfront home there. The home was razed in 1958 to construct the Elks Club.

Kalehuawehe also is famous for carrying surf legend Duke Kahanamoku on an extremely long wave ride, which ended at Kapuni, now known as Canoes.

I certainly could not imagine my husband and son riding a wave the partial length of Waikiki. Thankfully, the waves were not large enough for them to take advantage of that kind of ride.

But the waves were large enough to thrust my 2-year-old up over his dad's head to land on the back of the board.

My husband grabbed the life jacket of my son just as he was about to be shoved into the water.

"Are you OK, son?" my husband asked, worried that he had ruined his son's desire to ever get near the ocean again.

As my son coughed and sputtered, hacking up saltwater from his lungs, he looked at my husband and said, "Do it, again, Daddy!"

I think the Duke would have been proud of him.

Reach Ka'ohua Lucas at Family Matters, 'Ohana section, The Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Hono-lulu, HI 96802; fax 525-8055; or at ohana@honoluluadvertiser.com.