I learned to windsurf when I was 12 on a cold winter’s day in the south of England using a friend’s board and the top half of his two-piece wetsuit. I was immediately hooked. Back then, windsurfing was at its peak of popularity, when world champions were household names (Robby Naish anyone?), competitions were held inside city stadiums (big pools and big fans), and one in three households in France (a nation blessed with a lot of free time) owned a windsurfing board.
Being a Londoner with no means of transport, magazines became my main connection to windsurfing. I was enthralled by the glossy full-page photos of heroic riders doing battle with wind-blown waves breaking onto palm-fringed beaches. And my heros used to mostly hang out on two beaches in particular, both in Hawaii: Ho’okipa Beach Park on Maui, and Diamond Head Beach Park on Oahu. These spots ruled the roost for extreme windsurfing, with big waves, consistent winds and ne’er a wetsuit in sight.
My first trip to Maui was cobbled together with a small donation from my mother-in-law, a rusty van rented from a shady dealer, a sleeping bag for the van, and windsurfing gear nearly as old as I was. It was great and I returned to Maui many times since. Although I had visited Oahu once before, more than ten years ago, I was not able to sail Diamond Head for lack of wind. This should have been a warning.
For this trip, I set my sights on Diamond Head because unlike the sailing spots in Maui, the wind blows from the left. As all of you who read my introductory article on Windsurfing Theory know, I ride waves goofy foot, going left on the wave (right when looking from shore), so the wind needs to blow in the same direction. I can make do the other way, but it doesn’t feel natural. So I settled into an AirBnB not even a mile from Diamond Head Beach Park and waited for the wind.
Hawaii is kissed by light north east trade winds all year. In summer they get a little stronger, but not enough to have fun windsurfing. A few beaches benefit from a local topography that accelerates the wind, either a Venturi effect from being squeezed by a valley or a thermal effect from heat rising over a hotter surface. Diamond Head sits below the glistening black volcanic rock of the south-facing eponymous crater. The generated heat gives the trade winds a little boost, just enough to push a windsurfer out through the waves and to catch them on the way in. But not always.
In fact, Diamond Head is very fickle. You can sail almost everyday but the window is small and the wind can drop to nothing at any time. The local sailors joke that the riders from Maui, some of the best in the world, find the place challenging. I agree. When windsurfing in waves, you use a small board so you can zip around and surf with abandon, but that only works when there’s enough wind. Without wind the small board drags in the water like an anchor, a slow and painful balancing act until a wave picks you up and pushes you forward. To sail at Diamond Head is to master balance and patience, eventually rewarded by some great rides in clean overhead waves.
Another challenge is the shallow reef. Only thigh deep at low tide and dotted with exposed coral heads, the razor sharp reef lines the entire beach except for two small channels where the waves don’t break. Catching a wave at Diamond Head means executing a perfect ride and kicking out just in time, or ending up on the reef surrounded by whitewater to negotiate a turn in no wind. My success rate was less than perfect, resulting in a nice collection of cuts and scratches.
Yet another challenge are the surfers. Diamond Head is the best surf spot on the south shore for experts. Specially during the summer months, when the swells come from the south, the break catches the biggest swell and throws the steepest waves. On an island obsessed with surfing, it’s a local’s local spot that comes with some heavy attitude not in keeping with the island’s Aloha spirit. In other windsurfing spots, the strong winds drive away the surfers when the windsurfing is good. The light winds at Diamond Head means surfers stay all day, so you’re in the strange position of bobbing in the lineup alongside the surfers, all of us eyeing the same oncoming waves. A windsurfer, with a few pumps of the sail, can catch a wave much earlier than a surfer, but the rules are that surfers have priority. It ends up being a strange game of chicken where I’m controlling both sides, rushing to catch the oncoming wave first, or holding back if I think a surfer has a chance. I learned to weave between the paddlers and received my fair share of scowls, but generally the system works. We all caught waves, and the windsurfers caught way more.
Despite the challenges, Diamond Head is a magical place with plenty of Hawaiian mana. You reach the beach from a narrow road that skirts the old volcano high above the sea. A long row of parking spots littered with old cars, old surfboards and old surfers is your only indication that a beach lies below. A steep path runs down the cliff to the water, which is fronted by a narrow strip of sand and rough shrub. From above, the water is bright blue, highlighted by the white of the breaking waves. Down below, the sand sparkles with volcanic calcite crystals that gives the place its name. The surfers are out on the water and few tourists make it down here; just a stone’s throw from hectic Waikiki, the beach is a haven of calm and tranquility.
The local windsurfing crew is small. In two months I met only five, including two visitors, plus two kitesurfers. Like in any other top-rated windsurfing spot, they hail from a variety of countries: Germany, France, Italy, Brazil. They settled here to windsurf. The locals show up during the lunch break, when the wind is best, and head back to work after their session. Not a bad life.
And so when I wasn’t surfing I was windsurfing and I did one or the other every day for two months except for three days of rest. A waterman’s life for someone who was never a waterman but would very much like to be. Not a bad trip.
And what about Ho’okipa, the legendary windsurfing spot on Maui that I wanted to sail but didn’t because the wind never fully cooperated? I’ll be back.
F4 Plus 