OFF LIMITS: OAHU
“THE TRUTH IS REO AND KEAHI HAD EVERY INTENTION OF NOT PISSING ANYONE OFF, WHILE SURREPTITIOUSLY PLANNING ON TAKING THE BEST WAVES. THAT’S NOT EASY.”
If you arrived on the Hawaiian island of Oahu anytime in the last six decades, planning to ride waves, you quickly learned that certain surf spots were off limits. Just showing up and looking at them could get you in trouble. The Hawaiian people had been colonized, exploited and squeezed out. Even with all their Aloha they were understandably pissed. Their surf was not for sale. Certain spots were just not for visitors. In 1779 Captain Cook got cooked for being a dick head and since then there’s been little doubt that coming to Hawaii and disrespecting Hawaiians is a very foolish thing to do.
“AFTER SOME 40 FRAMES HE EMERGED, THE OCEAN SURFACE BLAST-WHIPPED BY RAIN. ODD LOOKING IMAGES, BUT THE KITESURFING WAS UNMATCHED. EVEN REO JUST SHOOK HIS HEAD. KEAHI IS A FREAK.”
Even at surf spots that aren’t famous, the law of respect rules the lineup. It’s simple: act up, get beat up. Behave and don’t do anything stupid, keep the eye contact to a minimum,
