Oahu

Hawaii is the cradle of surfing, and Oahu was the island where it all began. A pursuit once reserved for kings became a people’s sport in the 20th century. After Duke Kahanamoku’s amazing waveriding in Waikiki, attention shifted to the North Shore in the ’60s where brave men like Greg Noll and later Eddie Aikau paddled out into enormous winter waves of previously unimaginable size. Oahu’s North Shore has remained a test of courage and maker of legends as spots like ‘Pipeline’ and ‘Waimea’ still hog the limelight in what’s become a billion dollar industry. The history of windsurfing also began on Oahu in the late ’70s when talented teenagers Robby Naish and Pete Cabrinha took surfing to a new dimension by exploiting the trade winds in Kailua Bay with triangular sails on their boards. After the windsurfing scene relocated to Maui in the ’80s chasing better wind stats, Oahu temporarily fell out of favour. Yet modern-day windsurf design and kiting’s lower wind threshold offer fresh prospects for exploiting the island’s potential.