“A Duke with Hazards—Ho Wins Kahanamoku Event,” by Bobby Owens, 

Opening ceremonies for the Duke Kahanamoku meet this year were held at the Kuilima Resort Hotel with aloha cocktails, 

, music, and Hawaii’s premiere entertainer, Andy Bumatai, handling the microphone. The Pipeline Masters prelims had already been held, and the 12 semifinalists were unsure of which contest would start first.

As in the past, the great Duke’s widow, Nadine Kahanamoku, drew the heats from a hat that once belonged to the father of surfing, the Duke himself. A week later, 24 of the world’s finest competitors surfed in some of the intense Sunset waves that I’ve seen for the Duke meet. The conditions were a challenging, and certainly unpredictable, ten- to-fifteen-feet with the larger sets closing out across the horizon.

The heavy wind factor made conditions challenging, to say the least. The first semifinal heat featured Hans Hedemann, Mark Richards, Michael Ho, myself, and Gary Temperley. There were two vertical late takeoffs by Ho and Richards which ended in spectacular wipeouts. MR failed to get a third high-point wave needed to qualify for the final, thus creating the biggest upset of the semis. Ho captured first, I got second, and Hedemann third.

The second semi consisted of Dane Kealoha, Shaun Tomson, Cheyne Horan, Simon Anderson, Ken Bradshaw, and Rabbit Bartholomew. Kealoha, Tomson, and Horan took the top three spots. The big upset in this heat was Bradshaw failing to qualify. Ken spent his 40 minutes looking for the big ones on a board he hadn’t ridden since last year. He suffered the misfortune of breaking his favorite eight-footer the morning of the contest.

After the finalists were interviewed by ABC, the heat was held in windblown on-and-off monstrous conditions. The waves were shifty and unpredictable. Sunset Beach wave knowledge was a key factor in getting to the finals. When the big sets did come through, it was easy to be intimidated and find yourself in the undesirable position of being caught on the inside. With this winter’s three big events all happening in big waves and treacherous conditions, the Hawaiian leg of the IPS circuit demanded loads of courage on the part of every competitor. This winter isn’t seeing the clean, well-organized surf that most surfers expect when they come to Hawaii. So far, the Pipe and the Duke have posed the ultimate test of bravery that I have seen, with surfing conditions so critical that the slightest error could place you in the worst possible position.

It was definitely a day for Sunset guns, but even with the paddling advantage that these boards give, many drops were based on total abandonment due to the strong tradewinds. I grabbed last year’s Bill Barnfield, which has a heavier glass job than this year’s model, to counteract the wind factor. This saved a lot of drops from going airborne. When Sunset is that testing, the number one rule is to use the board you can best rely on.

The trend today, with the spotlight on freer, snappier maneuvering, is to place the board's wide point further back. However, from my own experience, I wanted to use a more conventional board with the wide point further up, thus offering more stability for greater confidence on the hairy drops.

Michael Ho won the Duke; he did it with consistency and wave selection. He kept his momentum going by catching the most waves of any of the six finalists. The clinchers were a tube ride and a daring left that ground into Sunset Point. The left occurred when Hans and Michael were paddling for the same wave. Hans pulled back because Michael had wave possession. Michael’s deep positioning combined with being suspended in the brisk trades was the key factor in his going left. He charged across the dangerous, inside shallows at Sunset Point.

While there were spectacular vertical drops by all the finalists, Hans Hedemann went a step beyond. He took off on an impossibly ledgy northwest grinder and became one with the lip as he and his board space-shuttled up and beyond in midair. Hans survived the breathtaking attack. His board did not. Luckily, his caddy was nearby with a replacement.

Meanwhile, Dane Kealoha had bad luck on his first wave with a costly wipeout when his board hit him in the ribs. He spent the initial 15 minutes of the heat trying to regain momentum. Dane was out of rhythm for the rest of the final.

Shaun Tomson was a very strong runner-up with an impressive and consistent performance, while Cheyne Horan proved his determination to handle North Shore power by placing third. Despite his horrible wipeout, Hans managed to capture the fourth spot. I had the misfortune of not getting my fifth wave on a five-wave quota and netted fifth place while Dane took sixth.

All in all, this year’s Duke was a winner. It was held at Sunset, where it belongs, in waves that were the epitome of what North Shore surfing is all about. It was a much-welcomed change to be put to the real test when the majority of the contests on the circuit are being held in hot-dog waves.

[Note: The Duke Classic was not included on the 1981 world tour schedule.]

1981 Duke Kahanamoku Surfing Classic

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