SURFERS
8am: There are perhaps fifty cars in the car park already, mostly surfers and tourists passing by to check the view on their way to Hana and its famed breathtaking scenery. The beach is split into two distinct groups and hang out spots. Pavilions at the near end as you drive into the beach, is the local surfing stronghold and in the olden days, obvious ‘Euro’ windsurfers were strongly advised to avoid eye contact with the hard core locals. Pavilions actually has a couple of shelters, showers and a barbeque area but none of the windsurfers ever use these facilities, as they stick to their own end of the beach up towards the life guard tower. Nowadays the scene is a little bit mellower than the nineties but still its best to drive slowly and keep a low profile when passing through ‘Pavils’. On an average day there can easily be two to three hundred surfers on the water at any one time spread across the breaks of Pavilions, Middles and H’poko down off the rocks. Today the wind is already filling in and the surfers are giving way to the inevitable takeover from the windsurfers. Somehow these two tribes coexist at this busy break but on more marginal days plenty of conflicts can take place.
9am: The lifeguards show up for work, ready for a busy day at the office. Not only are these guys on hand for any life-saving rescues but also a major part of their duty is to police the break. No windsurfers allowed if there are more than ten surfers, and no kites are allowed if there is more than ten windsurfers or five surfers. A couple of simple rules but kind of frustrating sometimes when its windy and eleven surfers are holding the break to ransom while the windsurfers are stuck on the beach or forced to head down to Lanes.
“ Ho’okipa is the ultimate location for shooting, despite the crowds; it has the best vantage points, waves and lighting, a photographers dream ! ”