Coming up on 50 years ago now, the iconic lifeguard and famed bodysurfer Buffalo Keaulana was the steersman as the voyaging canoe Hokulea set sail from Hawaii to Tahiti on an expedition of cultural re-discovery. It was a voyage meant to re-ignite the fire of Polynesian culture throughout the Islands. And it had a profound impact on Buffalo. He saw how the trip brought Hawaiians together. He wanted to do more of the same.
So in 1977, the Buffalo Big Board Surfing Classic started at the ionic West Side wave, Makaha (and every February since). This wasn’t a contest where competitors were cutthroat. It was more a celebration of fun and a way to put Hawaiian culture on a pedestal. It was a fantastic idea that still lives on today (as you can see in the video above). “I wanted something for the old-timers to enjoy,” Buffalo said. He wanted watermen and women to come out who didn’t usually compete, and he didn’t want the Classic to rely on judging. So longboards, SUPs, tandem surfing, and canoe surfing were all welcome. Anything over 10 feet.
Well, this weekend, one of Hawaii’s greatest, and longest running contests went off. The usual fun was had but Ocean Paddler TV created this rad little edit of canoe surfing at windy, rowdy Makaha. “It was a true cat and mouse game yesterday at the Buff,” wrote OPTV on its YouTube channel. “Great day, with eight-foot Hawaiian sets and 30-plus knot offshores that kept the crews busy!”
Yew! Looks like a lot of high speed fun that took a ton of skill to navigate. OPTV mixed drone footage with action cam POV for this quick hitter. At the 40-second mark, you can see exactly what happens when these canoe crews get caught inside.
