Blog

A Near Miss and an Important Lesson Learned We talk about health a lot in our newsletter, from exercise regimens to healthy diets and everything in between. As I get older, I am becoming acutely aware of how important health is, and how letting our bodies go can affect us in a myriad of ways, from getting in the way of surfing and other hobbies to putting us in the hospital.  But sometimes even if you take good care of yourself, you still end up having a medical crisis. Sometimes it’s genetics, other times it’s just plain bad luck. Last...

Ala Moana: The South Shore’s Performance Surfing Center If Waikiki  is the center of longboarding and surf lessons on the South Shore, the Ala Moana is the local, shortboarding zone. Located just west of Waikiki, Ala Moana features a high density of quality reef breaks stretching from Kewalos all the way through the beach park to Magic Island, and then across the channel to Bowls and Kaisers. Whether you are looking for rights, lefts, barrels, turns, or even an exclusive bodysurfing wave, Ala Moana has it all.   In addition to lots of waves, Ala Moana also has lots of...

 VERTRA Sunscreen Surfers spend a lot of time in the sun, so when it comes to protecting our skin, we naturally want the best products possible. While there has been a wide range of generic sunscreens available for decades, the good stuff was often hard to come by. Many serious surfers found themselves shopping in department stores, buying SPF 50 foundation sticks from makeup companies such as Shiseido. With this market for quality sun products in the surf industry, it was only a matter of time before a company began catering specifically to wave riders looking for premium sun care...

There are few names in surfing that are more iconic than Mark Richards. Also known as the “Wounded Seagull” for his signature, awkward, splayed arm style, MR won what at that time was a record four world titles in a row, dominating the world tour from 1979 to 1982 on his self-designed, twin-fin fish. Today, Mark Richards is a renowned shaper, and his Superman-style MR logo is known around the world. Still specializing in fast, loose, twin-fin fish designs, his line of boards is representative of his patented style of high-performance surfing that led him to such dominance in the...

Here at Hawaiian South Shore, we are excited about a lot of things—surfboards, fins, longboarding, you name it! And every once in a while we get to take that excitement and turn it into something tangible and concrete. Recently, we combined a few of our passions and developed a line of Hawaiian South Shore longboard and mid-length fins. Made from a special form of G10 material that is even lighter and stronger than normal G10, and that’s pretty impressive, considering G10 is the industry standard for single fin construction. Renowned shaper Dan Mann once told me that he loves the...

🍒 Cherry Picker 🍒 Ben Skinner is one of the world’s best performance longboarders, and a master shaper as well. But lately he has had to step outside of his comfort zone and focus more on traditional logging. Over the past year, the Longboard World Tour (under the guidance of Devon Howard) transitioned away from performance surfing and more toward traditional surfing, emphasizing single fin logs, extended noserides, and powerful, traditional turns. Ben loves logging as much as the next guy, and is an excellent noserider, but over the years had specifically focused on performance longboarding because that’s what was required...

NEWSLETTER JUNE 2021 Hawaiian South Shore's Own Longboard Fin Line KAIMANA Here at Hawaiian South Shore, we are excited about a lot of things—surfboards, fins, longboarding, you name it! And every once in a while we get to take that excitement and turn it into something tangible and concrete. Recently, we combined a few of our passions and developed a line of Hawaiian South Shore longboard and mid-length fins. Made from a special form of G10 material that is even lighter and stronger than normal G10, and that’s pretty impressive, considering G10 is the industry standard for single fin construction....

Futures Fins are renowned for their leading removable fin systems, consistently chosen by professional and recreational surfers globally for their quality and performance. The single, comprehensive fin box is easy to use and provides adequate support to prevent broken fin bases, and the wide variety of available models provides options for all styles and sizes of riders and waves. Future has signature fins from many of the industry’s top shapers and surfers, including Al Merrick, Dan Mann, Eric Arakawa, Hayden, Pyzel, Matt Biolos, Tomo, John John Florence, Jordy Smith, Dave Rastovich, and Rob Machado. It also has a number of...

FCS II Fin Clinic by Hawaiian South Shore While much emphasis is put on the rocker, rails, volume, bottom contours, and the various other aspects of board design, fins are hardly ever discussed. And yet they might just be the most important part of a surfboard. After all, they literally allow us to steer our boards through barrels and turns!  Fortunately for those of us who like to experiment with different designs, removable fin systems make it easy to do. FCS has been a leader in the removable fin system market for decades, and the current FCS II collection features...

BACK-FOOTED VS. FRONT-FOOTED SURFING 📷 @adam.eyes 🏄‍♂️@bourezmichel If you talk to enough people about surfing, you are bound to hear the terms “back-footed surfer” and “front-footed surfer”. While these terms are self-explanatory, there is a lot more riding on them than their simple definitions. Different surfboards and different styles of surfing work better with front and back-footed surfing, so it’s worthwhile taking a closer look at the two approaches. Prior to the invention of the thruster, most surfboards being ridden were single fins and twins. Most of them were voluminous with the widest points of the surfboard farther forward than midpoint. While...

NEWSLETTER MAY 2021   Sweet Potatoes As you all know, I love food and checking out different dishes and flavors, especially those that originate in Japan. At the same time, I am also always looking for ways to make my diet healthier and more nutritious. One way I have found to do both—eat healthier and more delicious—is through sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes aren’t actually potatoes at all. Instead, they are a nutrient-dense root vegetable with way more vitamins than normal potatoes. They are particularly rich in vitamin A, E, and C, carotenoids, and other antioxidants. They are also high in...

Jason Stevenson has been a global leader in surfboard design for 20 years, ever since he left DH Surfboards and started his own label. At the beginning, a lot of people said that he might not make it as an independent surfboard shaper, but he had confident in his shapes and abilities, and was friends with a lot of top surfers, and knew that if he stayed true to his designs and talents he could make a go at it. When he started JS surfboards, Stevenson didn’t want to use his name on the brand. A lot of other big shapers used...

NEWSLETTER APRIL 2021   A Quick Refresher on Surfing Lineup Etiquette Photo Credit to Jess We have done a few articles about surf etiquette in the past, and it is definitely a broad, complicated topic with a lot of factors and nuances to consider. Some of these issues deserved a bit more attention, and one in particular has led to a lot of problems that I’ve noticed in the lineup lately. Surfing has become incredibly popular over the past few years, and the number of surfers in the water has increased even more during the COVID-19 pandemic. With so many...

The History and Science of Surf Reporting and Forecasting on Oahu All of those who surf and live in Hawaii have become accustomed to daily surf reports and forecasts, but many of us are unaware of the science and history that go into those reports. This information is not only interesting for us from a cultural perspective, but also useful in better understanding the ocean and swells, which in turn makes us better watermen and women. The original surf reports were anecdotal observations from surfers and other coastal people. In 1968, a man named Larry Goddard began keeping written records...

The Dominator II with Dan Mann  “The Wire” Podcast Summary Shaper Dan Mann recently sat down with The Wire podcast to talk about Firewire sandwich construction and his new Dominator II shape. Feel free to check out the podcast, or read on for a summary of the highlights from his conversation. Kevin Schultz has been ripping on the Dominator II, which has been a pleasant surprise for shaper Dan Mann. Kevin tried one of Kelly Slater’s Dominator II's awhile back, and is now genuinely stoked on the board. He is especially excited about the sandwich construction, which is something Dan...

Cargo Slowed Due to COVID-19 at Los Angeles Port - Expect Shipping Delays As if COVID-19 hasn’t affected life enough already over the past year, the latest news out of Los Angeles is that there is a huge backlog of cargo ships stuck offshore. Nearly 700 stevedores are either sick or out of work due to COVID-19 infections and quarantines, so there simply aren’t enough people to process all of the cargo ships that come into the port. On top of that, everyone stuck at home during COVID-19 this year has been ordering things to help keep themselves occupied (including...

NEWSLETTER MARCH 2021   Cargo Slowed Due to COVID-19 at Los Angeles Port - Expect Shipping Delays As if COVID-19 hasn’t affected life enough already over the past year, the latest news out of Los Angeles is that there is a huge backlog of cargo ships stuck offshore. Nearly 700 stevedores are either sick or out of work due to COVID-19 infections and quarantines, so there simply aren’t enough people to process all of the cargo ships that come into the port. On top of that, everyone stuck at home during COVID-19 this year has been ordering things to help...

How to Stay Safe in the Sun   I was chatting with FCS rep Keoni Watson sometime ago, and he mentioned that the UV index was going to be super high on that weekend—pushing as high as 11. That sounded pretty gnarly to me, but I realized that I didn’t really know what the UV index meant, or where it even came from, so I decided to do some research. I found an online guideline from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and discovered some really interesting information.  As it turns out, the UV index was created in 1994 by the EPA and the...

Best Wetsuit Top and Rashguards here at Hawaiian South Shore. FREE SHIPPING on all USA Address! SHOP NOW!