Zane swung the canoe around with ease and continued to command and motivate the team until the pulse energy launched the canoe forward. “OK, everyone stop! We got it!” Cheehhuuuu!” At that moment, the wave shot us in the direction of the beach with the wind whipping by our ears and sea spray exploding into the air. Because everything was moving rapidly, it was impossible to take in the entire scene, with the gargantuan skyscrapers surrounding the beach and Diamond Head watching from its eternal perch. The moment seemed to be in slow motion for Zane, who methodically steered us through the zoo of surfers staring with wide eyes. “Has much changed since you first started being a beach boy?” I said, directed towards Zane as we paddled back out. A soft mist began to fall from the sky.
making sure everyone is safe...I became a full time beach boy in my 20s, spent a lot of time riding in Uncle Clyde [Aikau]’s canoe and learning. One thing I remember all the beach boys saying was that if you wanted to be a beach boy, you had to do three things: not just surf well, but also surf canoes, play ukulele, and weave coconut hats.”
unforgettable and historic scenery, my mind drifted to the deeper meanings of the cultural time machine I was riding in.
“What about the most important quality of being a beach boy? What do you think that is?”
“I meant to ask earlier - you said that in order to be a beach boy, you have to also be able to weave hats,” I said as we rowed closer to shore. “Just out of curiosity, why is that aspect so important?”
“Oh, the way you treat people,” Zane said. “Spreading aloha...it’s also important to treat everyone the same, treat them well. Here we go, everyone start paddling!” Oars were immediately in the water, and as a blue set corduroyed toward us, the canoe raced in the direction of beach once more. “Paddle harder! Harder! Ok, we got it!”
“Nah brah, it’s mostly the same,” he responded. “Teaching surfing, going canoe surfing, even being lifeguards, 40
Heff
“This is just another day at the office,” said Zane Aikau (left) steering an outrigger canoe with writer Cash Lambert (middle).
Again, the addictive feeling of riding a wave returned and instead of eyeing the
“Howz this!” said Zane, skillfully keeping the canoe in the pocket of the wave until we nearly reached shore. “I love this rain! We might have a rainbow soon guys, but for now let’s take her in.”
“The hats...if it was a slow day and you needed to make some extra money, you could weave them out of leaves and sell it, you know?” “So there was an entrepreneurial spirit…”. Zane’s commands to paddle backwards to beach the canoe stopped me mid sentence, and moments later, we were back on the sand, with Zane taking a seat under a blue umbrella. He pulled an appropriate snack out of his pack: fish.