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Kamu Auwae Wins Big at Sunset Beach! |
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By: Bill Ward
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Thursday, 10 April 2008 |
Steinlager Shaka Longboard Series/Stand Up Paddle Series
Sunset Beach, April 5 & 6
On a blustery day spring day with shifty and challenging surf at Sunset
beach, Oahu, Kamu Auwae riding a finely tuned high performance board
from Paddle Surf Hawaii wins the first contest for the Steinlarger
Shaka longboard and stand up paddle series!
After a week of
heavy trade winds and small to non existent surf on the North Shore,
the competitors were greeted Saturday morning with a solid 5-7 foot
(Hawaiian scale) surf from the north-north east. Wave faces easily and
often reached heights of 12 feet plus. The unusual element of an
easterly direction of swell combined with very strong 15-25 mph E-NE
winds made for some beautiful conditions for spectators to watch, but
very difficult to surf.
It was especially challenging for the
stand up surfers as the howling offshore winds and typically shifty
peaks at the world famous Sunset Beach had every SUP surfer digging
deep with both paddle and heart!
The challenging conditions
however, did nothing to put a damper on the outstanding performances of
Hawaii’s finest stand up paddle surfers. Elite SUP surfers like
Kamu Auwae, Dave Parmenter, Brian Keaulana, Leleo Kinimaka, Ikaika
Kalama, Kia Sallas , Kekoa Umera, Candice Appleby (the only wahine in
the event), Slater Trout and our very own Nate Burgoyne put on
inspiring display of state of the art SUP surfing.
Kamu Auwae should have also won the “iron man” award if they had one!
He not only won the SUP division, but also place 2nd in the Pro-Am
longboard division! At one point he surfed THREE heats in a row!
(stand-up paddle semifinal, the pro-am final, then the stand-up paddle
final). He even had to change boards all 3 times, but thankfully the
judges allowed him a few extra minutes to do so…….Whew, talk about
endurance!
Kamu, who made the finals of Makaha big wave KU
IKAIKA event, is fast becoming one the toughest competitors in stand up
paddle surfing events. Guys like Kamu are the future of SUP surfing and
without question he will only get better and better. Kind of scary!
C4
team rider, shaper and SUP ambassador extraordinaire, Dave Parmenter
put in a truly sublime performance. As you would expect from a world
class surfer and shaper, Dave had several boards on hand to choose from
and as ready for whatever conditions Sunset offered. In a brief
conversation before his second heat he told us that he normally rides
shorter narrower boards in the 9 ’2 to 9’4 and 26” wide ranges.
However, in the conditions of this day, he opted to ride a 10’ x 27
wide single fin that also had 6 deep channels. Obviously he made the
right choice has surfed his way to 2nd place in the event.
Coming
in 3rd was Leleo Kinimaki. Leleo is the SUP version of “Buttons” Kaluhiokalani Is there ANYTHING this guy CANT do on a wave?! His fluid
and seemingly effortless SUP surfing is simply amazing! He makes
sections others don’t even think about and rode one wave so far inside
I thought it would never end! He also plays with his paddle in way that
that make the fire dancers at the Polynesian Cultural Center green with
envy. Make no mistake; Leleo is class by himself and truly one of the
finest SUP surfers to grace the water.
Rounding out the final in
4th place was Makaha’s own Nolan Kaeulana. Nolan is another fantastic
waterman from the famed Kaeulana family. His in depth knowledge of the
ocean and waves selection shows he wise beyond his years.
He may
have missed the SUP finals, but as always the surfing of Ikaika Kalama
was insane. Ikaika may the most well rounded SUP surfer these days. He
charges and I mean CHARGES big waves at Pipeline and pulls into the
deepest barrels of anyone riding a stand up paddle board! After a five
layoff from longboard contests, Ikaika put on a wonderful display of
his amazing talents by winning the Pro-Am longboard division.
Brian Keaulana, Kekoa Uemura and Kai Sallas also surfed incredibly well. If
any one of those guys had managed to catch the right waves, something
quite difficult this day at Sunset beach, they too could have easily
made the finals.
Candice Appleby was the only female in the
event and showcased her new custom 9’4” from Tropical Blends shaper
Mike Casey. Her new board was a hot topic of conversation on the beach
as everyone who saw it commented on how amazing it looked. Although she
drew a tough heat and did not advance, her performance on several waves
was so inspiring she drew loud cheers and applause from everyone on the
beach.
The early heats saw some incredible action as the every
SUP surfer who the event proved they belong there. Young, 13 rear old,
Slater Trout from Maui put in a tremendous performance in only his
second time surfing Sunset beach! Look for this kid to be a major
threat to the big dogs of SUP surfing in the very near future.
I
would be remiss if I did not mention
the gritty performance turned in by SUPSURFMAG.com editor Nate
Burgoyne. Nate lost sleep the week prior as he was dreaming of surfing
unreal Sunset with only a handful of guys. I know he would have been
satisfied with simply surfing in one heat, but he did much better than
that!
With the family in attendance, he scored a
couple of killer Sunset bombs and was obviously STOKED beyond belief!!
I was his” unofficial coach” and he made me proud! He stayed calm and
kept in mind that he only needed two good waves to advance, which he
did! Nate placed 2nd in his first heat and only lost to some guy named Brian Keaulana?.....NO shame in that bruddah! His second heat was a tough
draw as he had to go up against Dave Parmenter, Kekoa Uemura, and Kai Sallas in what
turned to be an inconsistent heat. Nate caught his two required scoring
waves and was all alone outside with 7 minutes remaining.
Unfortunately, the ocean went flat and not a single set came in for the
remainder of his heat. None the less, he placed third in his head, was totally stoked and put in
a performance that made everyone proud!
A couple of other local
SUP surfers who deserve mentioning were Clay Valverde and Kevin Seid.
Clay placed 3rd his his heat and did not advance with Brian K and Nate.
But he caught a ton of waves and certainly proved he is more than
capable in challenging North Shore waves! Kevin did well also, but
sadly broke his wood paddle half way through his heat. He came in
bummed about his paddle but anxious to NOT give up! So, I let him
borrow my Kialoa Shaka Pu’u paddle and he did his best to get back in
time for another scoring wave. Unfortunately it was too late, but GREAT
effort of you part Kevin!
Overall this event was another
excellent showcase of stand up paddle surfing. Each event we are seeing
stand up paddle surfing pushed to new heights by incredible waterman
and dramatic improvements in SUB designs. The future of stand up paddle
surfing is brighter than ever!
We salute EVERYONE who competed and offer heartfelt congratulations to Kamu Auwae for winning. Final results:
st: Kamu Auwae
2nd: Dave Parmenter
3rd: Leleo Kinimaka
4th: Nolan Keaulana
The
next event for the Stienlager Shaka longboard/stand up paddle series is
scheduled for May 31, June 1st at Kakaako Beach Park.
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