Happy 125th, Duke!
Google is king of the internet. Duke Kahanamoku is king of surfing. And today, August 24th, would be Duke 125th birthday. Google devoted a Google Doodle to the world’s most iconic surfer–basically the modern equivalent of having a postage stamp printed in your honor.
The story of Duke Kahanomoku is a well-known one. Well before surfing was even a glimmer in any mainlander’s eye, Duke was surfing Hawaii’s powerful waves, living a true aloha lifestyle, and was intent on spreading it to whoever wanted a piece. The people of Hawaii loved him–so much, in fact, that he was elected sheriff more than a dozen times. He was a five time Olympic swimming medalist and a humble hero. Way back in the mid-20s, Duke Kahanamoku stood on the sand at Newport Beach when he, along with a few others, witnessed a fishing boat flounder in a squall. The vessel, named the Thelma, was smashed by a huge wave, and the engine room flooded. Within minutes, 29 sailors were thrown in the sea. The vessel “was caught broadside in the teeth of three tremendous breakers and rolled completely over three times from starboard to port on the sand of the shallow bar,” according to the Los Angeles Times.
“From shore, we suddenly saw the charter fishing boat, the Thelma, wallowing in the water, trying to get to safe water and it was a losing battle,” Duke told Malcom Gault Williams for his book Legendary Surfers. “The prospects for picking up victims looked impossible.”
But it wasn’t impossible, not for Duke, anyway. He and his friends came to the rescue; they paddled out to the fisherman and managed to pull twelve men to safety. “Neither me nor my pals were thinking about heroics, we were simply running–me with my board and the others to get their boards–hoping to save lives,” he continued.
Although Duke is well-known for his Olympic medals and his Hollywood appearances, he is most well-known as the quintessential Hawaiian. Strong willed, ever-smiling, and a powerful waterman, Duke love the ocean and Hawaii with a passion few other possessed. That’s why Matt Cruickshank, the illustrator of Google’s Doodle, chose to honor Duke.
