A poster in Honolulu’s Waikiki promotes surfing
Source: Margit Kohl
“My God! Why can’t my boyfriend surf?!” laments a weeping woman with a red hibiscus flower in her hair on a huge advertising poster in Waikiki, which is painted in the best pop art manner. After all, in Hawaii, the birthplace of surfing, not being interested in surfing is considered unforgivable. Because here it is much more than a sport – it is a way of life.
In Waikiki, a district of Honolulu, they are present everywhere: surfers who are still soaking wet in swimwear and with boards under their arms are standing at the traffic light or taking a coffee break in the American Diner. Her surfer greeting with the associated shaka hand sign, a closed fist with the thumb and little finger spread apart, stands for cool or everything is fine.
Between the high-rise towers of the “Moana Surfrider” and the “Outrigger Hotel” I discover an inconspicuous little wooden hut covered with palm fronds called “Aloha Beach Service”, which has been around since 1959. Like all surf schools, they advertise that every beginner can stand on the board and ride a wave within the first hour.
Surf instructor Chance Foote was born on Oahu, one of Hawaii’s eight main islands
Source: Margit Kohl
Chance Foote has been a surf instructor here for 13 years. His youngest student was only four, his oldest 65 years old. “Hello – I can’t speak any more German,” says the surfing pro with a broad grin and shakes his shoulder-length curls in embarrassment. Born on Oahu, mother Hawaiian, father German, the 37-year-old is a modern descendant of the legendary Waikiki Beach Boys. “Our surf school founder Harry Robello was the last Beach Boy from the very beginning,” says Chance.
After the annexation, more vacationers came from the United States
As surfing grew in popularity after the US annexed Hawaii, more and more tourists flocked to Waikiki, and the Beach Boys offered surfing, paddling, and swimming lessons, and sometimes acted as entertainers and tourist guides.
On top of that, Chance says, Robello married into the family of Paoa Kahanamoku, a surfing legend they call “the Duke” in Hawaii because he helped bring modern surfing to international recognition. Today, Duke’s bronze statue, always adorned with lush garlands of flowers, watches over the waves on Waikiki Beach.
A bronze statue on Waikiki Beach commemorates surfing legend Paoa Kahanamoku, also known as “the Duke”.
Those: pa/KEYSTONE/ALESSANDRO DELLA BELLA
Back in the early 1900s, when he was gliding gracefully over Oahu’s wave crests on his lead-heavy koa board, hardly anyone outside of Hawaii had heard of surfing. Internationally, the Duke was known as an Olympic swimming champion. When he was asked about his hobbies, everyone was wondering: What the hell is surfing? And that despite the fact that James Cook and his companions had reported enthusiastically about surfing in Hawaii in 1778.
Off to the water to surf
But now it’s time to learn from the best – as advertised, I want to ride a wave within the first hour. “Deal,” says Chance. “But I also guarantee that you will fall into the water.” Because a board is for a surfer what a car is for a racer, he first gets the soapbox model for me: big, thick and with a lot of volume. It should make paddling easier and better stability when riding waves for beginners like me.
And because no master has yet fallen from the sky, there are already a few dry runs on land to rehearse a smooth process for the take-off, so that it is easier to move from the board to the standing position out on the water while lying down. The band that now connects the surfer and the board is called a leash and is a long cord that is used to secure the board to the leg.
After a few dry runs on land, it’s time to stand up on the board in the water
Source: Margit Kohl
But before the fun comes the effort: Above all, you have to paddle. Lying on the surfboard against the force of the waves, up to where they pile up. Always by my side: pro surfer Chance Foote. Arriving at the breaking line, I sit down on the board to wait for the next wave. “Never turn your back on the waves or you’ll end up in the washing machine,” Chance warns.
Because my awkward turning maneuver naturally takes far too long, I get jump-start help and Chance turns my board at the perfect moment so that I can still get in front of the wave. “Go paddle!” he calls after me as the wave catches me and pushes me forward with full force.
From now on it is important to use the sequence of movements for the take-off that you have just learned on the beach: The back foot stands first on the board and in quick succession the front foot lands between your hands, with which you can then get out of the board Squat pushes up off the board. It actually works!
In the winter, the best surfers in the world come to Hawaii
I glide happily over the waves. But the happiness doesn’t last long. A drone circles over a group of surf students and me and makes videos – so that you can later see how well you cut surfing on land. I look up at the drone and immediately lose my balance. Like a sandbag I fly straight from the board into the water. What else had Chance said: “Your head is your steering wheel. Just keep the destination in mind.” And that’s really not in the sky.
I climb back on the board and manage a couple of passable straight rides. One thing I learn very quickly: No beginner slashes radical turns into the waves. I’m happy when I can cruise around in knee-high waves.
It takes a lot more than an hour to learn the right technique, as well as a lot of patience to find the perfect wave – and a little courage to throw yourself into the masses of water with verve. Without starting and turning assistance, I quickly realize that nobody manages to ride even a few waves. And Chance is right: “There’s no better place on earth than Waikiki for a beginner surfer because the waves here have a large extension and therefore break in a controlled and slow manner.”
Waikiki is a perfect place for surfing beginners, as the waves break slowly here
Quelle: Getty Images/M Sweet
If you want to watch the world’s best surfers surf, you should come during the winter months when the Pacific is stormy. Then the waves on the North Shore off Haleiwa, about 46 kilometers from Honolulu, reach heights of more than 20 meters. In contrast, the waves on Waikiki Beach are more like foam rolls. On the north coast, it’s monsters. Those who are not big wave surfers will be left with weak knees on the beach. They are all professionals who compete here in international competitions with advertising contracts.
Surprisingly, the current surfing king of the big wave scene is a German: Sebastian Steudtner from Nuremberg, who learned to surf in Hawaii. He holds the world record in big wave surfing and conquered a 26.21 meter high monster wave. However, he did not surf them off Hawaii, but in Nazaré on the Atlantic coast of Portugal. The global surfing association took its time for a year and a half and only officially confirmed the record measurement in May of this year.
Steudtner conquers the highest wave ever surfed
Award for Sebastian Steudtner: Germany’s best surfer was honored on Tuesday for the biggest wave ever surfed. The 37-year-old set a new world record in Nazare and is already working on new goals.
The result will probably not have pleased the American-dominated association. Because the biggest monster waves in the world are now, officially confirmed, no longer in the middle of the Pacific, but in Europe. Which of course doesn’t matter to surf beginners – they are of course better off with the gentle waves off Waikiki.
Tips and information:
Arrival and entry: From Germany to Honolulu and back, for example with Air France (via Paris and Seattle) or with British Airways (via London and Los Angeles). Pre-registration via the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) is required for the USA, esta.cbp.dhs.gov/.
Accomodation: You can stay cheaply in a holiday apartment via the FeWo-direkt platform, for example a penthouse studio apartment with a balcony view of Waikiki Beach for two people from 205 US dollars per night, fewo-direkt.de. The Beach Waikiki Boutique Hostel also has affordable private rooms, such as a junior suite for two from $120 per night, thebeachwaikikihostel.com.
Surf Schools: One-hour group surf lessons cost $70-$100 per person, private lessons $130-$160. Aloha Beach Services (alohabeachservices.com) and Waikiki Beach Services (waikikibeachservices.com) are located directly on the beach in Waikiki. Advantage of the beach location: You don’t have to lug any gear.
Hawaii Tourism: gohawaii.com/de/
Source: Infographic WORLD
Participation in the trip was supported by FeWo Direkt and Aloha Beach Services. You can find our standards of transparency and journalistic independence at axelspringer.com/de/Werte/downloads.