Adventure on the Seas with Pete Hendricks By Ma‘ata Tukuafu
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KeOlaMagazine.com | May – June 2021
ete Hendricks knows something about curiosity: it’s why he’s done so many different things over the course of his lifetime. Born on August 1, 1938 in Los Angeles, Pete grew up nearby in Long Beach with four brothers and his hardworking parents, who encouraged independence. His father would strap two-year-old Pete to his back and take him sailing. At the age of 10, Pete started sailing himself, which began his lifelong interest in the sea. By retaining his curiosity, Pete has been motivated to explore new places, investigate different experiences, and learn from the people who have crossed his path. Education is very important to Pete, and he says he was lucky to grow up in a system where kindergarten to graduate school was almost free. At the time, California had one of the best public school systems and after high school, he chose to attend University of California at Berkeley, graduating in 1961 with a bachelor of arts degree in communication and public policy. “Curiosity is why I went to Vietnam,” says Pete. “I was in the Navy ROTC [Reserve Officer Training Corps] at UC Berkeley and was required to have two years at sea. One month after I graduated, I was in active duty.” He went into the Navy as a “fresh ensign with one bar” and worked on an amphibious landing ship, which sometimes carried a whole battalion 22 of Marines. Pete worked under three
different captains during his time on the ship, and under the third navy captain, he advanced to be the senior officer on deck. Pete says he learned a lot from this captain, and got a lot of deep-water experience while on that ship. He spent two years on sea duty and sailed waters of the Pacific Rim around Japan, Hong Kong, and the Philippines. He then attended San Diego survival school, and went to work as a volunteer in Vietnam for a year. “Even with all my ocean experience, I got stuck in a supply job while in Vietnam,” Pete says. “So I started teaching English to South Vietnam government employees. That’s how I started my teaching career.” He had been through Hawai‘i a few times, and his best friend was stationed at Fort Shafter in Honolulu. Returning to Hawai‘i in 1964, Pete met up with his friend who took him surfing, and he says body surfing is what he loves most. He heard that University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa had a school of education, so he enrolled and got his master’s degree in education. It was while he was surfing, going to school, and working as a clerk at the old Seacrest Manor building (now the Hilton at Waikiki) that he reconnected with his girlfriend Carol. Pete says, “I originally met Carol while I was lifeguarding at Huntington Beach in ‘58 or ‘59. We reconnected in Hawai‘i again in 1965 when she was vacationing with her Pete Hendricks stands at his home today in Waimea. photo courtesy of Pete’s daughter, Aubrey Allen
