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william castle : surf riding in hawai'i, 1917

William R. Castle, Jr. : Surf riding in Hawai'i, 1917.

Extracts and photograph from
Castle, Jr., William R.:
Hawaii - Past and Present
Dodd, Mead and Company, New York, 1917.
Revised and enlarged edition.

Open Library
http://openlibrary.org/books/OL6595020M/Hawaii_past_and_present

Introduction.
Castle, William R. (William Richards), 1878-1963
Reprinted by Dodd, Mead and Company, New York, 1921.

Page 20 [facing]

HAWAIIAN SURF RIDING
Page 23

The Hawaiians were a sport-loving people.
Boxing, wrestling, foot racing, and bowling with polished stone discs were among the favourite amusements.
Still to be seen, also, are the long slides on steep hillsides, down which they darted on wooden sleds.

Swimming and diving were the delight of all, chiefs and common people, and surf riding remains to this day one of the favourite
sports.
It is this surf riding, as popular now with foreigners as with the natives, which makes Waikiki, near Honolulu, unique among bathing resorts.
The surf rider takes a long, smooth, polished board and with it swims out a half-mile or so from the shore.
He then lies flat on his board and swims rapidly toward shore until a roller catches the board and carries him on its crest to the beach.
Expert surf riders can raise themselves to a standing position after the wave takes them and so ride, standing, for hundreds of yards, or as far as the wave will carry them.
The game has all the excitement of tobogganing without the effort of dragging the toboggan uphill again, be-

Page 24

cause the swim out to sea, diving under the waves as one goes, has almost the fun of the ride back.
For those who cannot swim the tamer sport of surf riding in long Hawaiian canoes, the outriggers of which make an upset next to impossible, is a good substitute.

Page 135

(Oahu) At the end of the mountains, on the western sea, is Waialua, a pretty little village between the two ranges, where, on the beach, a delightful hotel serves good luncheons and provides clean, comfortable quarters for those who can stay a few days to enjoy the splendid surf bathing or to go goat shooting in the mountains.
...
Beyond Waialua, again along the narrow sea-board, the surf dashes almost to the windows of the cars.

Page 185

(Hilo) There is a charming park where band concerts are often held, but for recreation people go to Cocoanut Island in the bay.
On its rocky shores the surf-bathing is wonderful, and one dives into the water and swims about under the cocoanut trees that seem to stretch out over the water to
get breathing space, so crowded is the little island.
A mile back from the town Rainbow Fall breaks from a mass of trees and ferns to fall eighty feet into a dark cave pool, from which it rushes, in foam and spray, between high, rocky walls that

Page 186

are always draped with morning-glories.

Page 205

Laupahoehoe stands on a leaf-shaped tongue of rock that juts into the sea — " lava leaf " is the English of the name.
Surf always pounds on the shore, and
during a storm the roar of waters dominates all

Page 206

other sounds.
The landing is from small boats in a little cove which fortunately is smooth, even though the sea outside may be very rough.
If it were not for the great dexterity of the Hawaiian boatmen, who handle passengers as though they were bags of sugar, embarking and disembarking from rolling steamers into dancing row-boats would be quite impossible.

Page 235

In the late afternoon the Country Club in Nunauu Valley, or the Pacific Tennis Court near the Executive Building, or the various athletic fields and the bathing beaches at Waikiki are the meeting places of society.
At night there are dinners, dances, and bridge parties ; occasionally, and much more amusing, moonlight surfing and swimming parties.

Page 241

As to outdoor sports there is enough to satisfy the keenest.
Aside from the surf-riding, the bathing is excellent all along the shores, and at Waikiki, where there is no undertow, where the bottom is of softest sand, where the waves are
never large enough to be dangerous, but always to give motion to the water, it is ideal.
Two rival boat clubs arrange for rowing and paddling races in Honolulu harbour.

Castle, Jr., William R.:
Hawaii - Past and Present
Dodd, Mead and Company, New York, 1917.
Revised and enlarged edition.

Open Library
http://openlibrary.org/books/OL6595020M/Hawaii_past_and_present

Castle, William R.:
Hawaii, Past and Present
Dodd, Mead and Company, New York, 1921.

Open Library
https://openlibrary.org/books/OL25099138M/Hawaii_past_and_present

surfresearch.com.au

Geoff Cater (2013-2019) : William R. Castle, Jr. : Surf Riding in Hawaii, 1917.
http://www.surfresearch.com.au/1917_Castle_Hawaii_Past_Present.html