August 7, 2010 Saturday - Part 2

Kahuna Kupuna Surf Contest – Part 2

Meet Roy Earnest (on the left in the above photo) the founder and force behind the Kahuna Kupuna surf contest. For eleven years Roy has attended to all the small details needed to guarantee successful contests. I first met him last Wednesday when I drove here to Linda Mar to sign up. The weather was miserable, foggy, cold and windy, only three surfers were in the water and there was Roy bundled up in a hooded sweatshirt standing next to his pick-up truck that had a large sandwich board in the back advertising the contest. I’m sure Roy stood out there in the cold five to six hours in the hope of signing up more contestants. I came here yesterday and Roy was there again in the parking lot waiting to sign up more people. Here he was this morning standing on the judges’ platform microphone in hand announcing the start of all the heats.

The Kuhuna Kupuna surf contest is the only amateur surf contest in the world specifically designed for older surfers, beginning with age 40 with six age groupings through age 79. Kahuna is Hawaiian for “big chief” and Kupuna means “older member of the community who everyone turns to for advice.” I like the spirit of that, don’t you? The original contest started at age 50 and was longboards only. The contest has expanded since then. Today’s version had 22 heats, 81 contestants from age 8 to 78. It included longboard, shortboards, standup boards and men and women divisions. This year Roy added an Intergeneration Teams Division. Six teams of six members each where a team had to represent three generations (a generation equals 18 years) with three members under the age of 40 and at least one member under the age of 20. Team members could ride anything that floats: longboards, shortboards, standups or boogie boards. This year’s contest also included a standup heat for the first time. Given today’s rough conditions, blown-out five foot close-outs, the standup guys had a difficult time, but they were there taking off on these huge walls. Kahuna Kupuna is local Pacifica family orientated event with heavy emphasis on picnicking on the beach. At least a hundred people milled around, stood, sat, ate, hooted, took pictures, watched and enjoyed the thrills of all the heats.

To pass the time, Don Holm, a Bolinas regular, and I sat at an empty fold-up table next to the judges’ stand and watched the heats. Don had come in second in his 55 to 59 year old heat and was into the final that was scheduled for 4:15 pm. Don lives in Berkeley and loves to surf Bolinas. But depending on conditions he often heads to Pacifica or Santa Cruz. Don was a member of the Pedro Point Surf Club, has entered this contest several times and considers Roy a good friend. He loves the spirit of this contest. Roy came by to say hello to Don. I asked Roy if he had met his target of 70 contestants. He had and was pleased that expenses would be covered and a sizeable amount would be passed onto the contest’s charity, the Pacifica Environmental Family. Don and I worried about the swell, the chop, the wind and the current. Roy worried about judges not showing up, slow raffle sales, and volunteers disappearing. He was relieved that AmeriCorps had supplied four volunteers. Roy pointed them out; four college-age youths who really hustled and enjoyed what they were doing. Within a couple of minutes Roy had to hurry off to take care of another detail.

I commented to Don that Roy was obviously the spirit behind this contest. Events like this one, as for all volunteer endeavors, depend on a small number of “doers”; one or two who do all the little things needed to make the event a success. Roy was that person.

“Loren, Roy is amazing. He brings people together and makes sure everything gets done. He has even produced a movie.”

“A movie?”

“Yes, a movie, Surfing for Life. Have you seen it?”

“Seen it! I own it. I was there at its San Francisco opening.”

At that moment everything fell into place for me. Roy a gerontologist and past president of the California Specialists on Aging produced Surfing for Life, a movie that depicted the stories of ten people in their sixties, seventies and eighties who still surf. Featured were my childhood heroes: Rabbit Kekai, Fred Van Dyke and Peter Cole. The highlight of the film was Woody Brown, the inventor of the catamaran, who in his eighties with the help of friends still surfed the waves at Waikiki. But more than that was his spirit. In his eighties, Woody was still fired up on life and extended himself to help others. Always positive and upbeat he was a regular volunteer at a convalescent hospital and took patients on walks where he would inject a little of his optimism into their lives. Surfing for Life is an inspiring film for us older surfers. If you just keep doing it, you can continue surfing, enjoying the ocean and elements and remain digging life well into your eighties. If you haven’t already seen this movie, rent it, borrow it or buy it. You must see it.

When the film first came out a review I read mentioned that the concept for movie originated in Pacifica when the producer overheard in the parking lot a group of teenage surfers bitching about all the geezers in the water. That did it. These young punks didn’t realize who these people were. How tough they were and what interesting and exciting lives they had lived. That producer was Roy. He teamed up with filmmaker David L. Brown to tell the story of older surfers.

So this humble guy who was running around making sure everything came off right also produced a CLASSIC surf movie. Technically the film was well done which meant David Brown did an excellent job. But after watching Roy here today, I could easily imagine that it was Roy who attended to the countless details required to produce an excellent product. And I wouldn’t be surprised if someone told me that Roy served the salad at the contest’s banquet that night.

I had a great time and so did hundreds of others. Roy thanks for everything and I will see you again here next year.

Check out my photos of the contest. Click on the link below.

Kuhuna Kupuna 2010