Blogs

When I first planned my trip to the Hawaiian Islands by getting the very best Oahu Vacation Information I made arrangements for a wonderful trip, though at the time I really wasn’t so much interested in surfing. Then when I began to travel around Oahu I began to see surfers everywhere! I saw surfboards on top of cars, in trucks, and people are carrying them as they walk toward the beach.

This made me think about how surfing got started in the first place and I really began to wonder about the history of surfing in the Hawaiian Islands. Of course it does seem inevitable that the seafaring Polynesians who were so skilled in all aspects of living near and sailing over the ocean would be among the first people to surf the ocean waves. Today the Hawaiian Islands are a mecca for surfers who come from all over the world to test themselves on Hawaii’s large and challenging waves.

As I gaze over Waikiki from my Oahu Vacation Rental and see the surf instructors below I think back to the early days of Waikiki when the tradition of the Waikiki Beachboys began.

From the 1920s to the 1950s, a group of water sports instructors working on the beaches fronting the Moana and Royal Hawaiian Hotels came to be known as the Waikiki Beachboys. One of the most famous of the Beachboys was the legendary Hawaiian waterman and Olympic champion Duke Kahanamoku. In 1911, Duke and other local watermen founded Hui Nalu (Club of the Waves), and many of the club’s members eventually became Waikiki Beachboys.