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by Rusty Miller
At the wide point in the pyramid of the population of surfers
are most who are not expecting the riding of waves to be their
main career curve. They might enter competitive events to
experience the concentration of the art and enjoy the social
inter- course, not because they wish to be the next world
champion.
The main mass of surfing souls ride the waves for the pleasure,
fun and the physical / mental exhilaration it injects into
their lives. They have incorporated the surfing lifestyle
into their lives without going corporate. Their offspring
grow up on the fore- shore of Byron becoming educated in the
ways of the beach. Sandcastle building, rock walking and tide
pool exploration lead to body surfing, surf-ski paddling,
boogie boarding, short and longboard surfing and other wave
riding endeavours that require the special knowledge and respect
for the ways of the ocean. They have become the fibres of
the surfing culture of Byron, our Keepers of the Aloha Spirit,
a caring sensitive human ethic. Byron s inter- est groups
like the Surf Life Saving Club, the Boardrider Club, the Malibu
Club and Surfrider Foundation have helped spawn a wealth of
special watermen and women who are tak- ing this ocean knowledge
forward. From rougher beginnings and bouts of social conduct
unbecoming, surf- ing in Byron has become not just respectable,
but has evolved to be this community s main dynamic.
he'e nalu - To ride a surfboard; surfing; surf rider.
Lit., wave sliding.
he e -To slide, surf slip, flee.
nalu - Wave, surf; full of waves; to form waves; wavy,
as wood grain.
Ke nalu nei ka moana - the ocean is full of waves.
from Samuel Elbert and Mary Kawena Pukui s Hawaiian Dictionary
1971
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