International Surfing Day is Saturday, and the public is invited to a morning beach cleanup at Kewalo Basin Park that will be hosted by Surfrider Foundation O‘ahu Chapter.
“Our mission is to protect and enjoy our ocean beaches and waves,” said Doorae Shin, Oahu chapter coordinator of the nonprofit environmental group. “One of our priorities is fighting for public beach access, as we recently did to get Ko Olina Resort to reopen public parking for their lagoons.”
This year the celebration of surfing coincides with Juneteenth, which commemorates the day slavery ended in the U.S. and has just been made a new federal holiday, effective today.
In solidarity, Surfrider has chosen inclusivity as its theme because “the beach belongs to everyone,” Shin said, noting that “historically, certain beaches were racially segregated in the U.S.”
Oceanfront developers routinely seek to exclude the public from beaches, said Ron Iwami of Friends of Kewalos, a community organization that has long opposed private development in Kakaako Makai, which is “pretty much the last remaining undeveloped shoreline in the South Shore.”
“Everywhere else, you’ve got either hotels or condos,” he said.
At the cleanup, Friends of Kewalos will have an information booth to talk about how people can help preserve the shoreline as open, public space with free parking.
In March, although residential development has been banned in Kakaako Makai since 2006, Friends of Kewalos demonstrated at the state Capitol against legislation that would have allowed the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs to develop two high-rise residential towers there.
The bill died, but the public must remain vigilant, Iwami said.
Kewalos holds a special place in the public heart, Shin said.
“It’s a very local, family-oriented shoreline, where people are always having picnics and birthday parties, and it’s a prime surf location with lots of regulars, including most of our Oahu volunteers.”
One famous Kewalo regular is Honolulu native and four-time world surfing champ Carissa Moore, currently ranked No. 1 in the world on the women’s championship tour. Moore will compete starting today at the Jeep Surf Ranch Pro in Lemoore, Calif., in the inland wave pool developed by Kelly Slater. The competition runs through Sunday.
Saturday morning, fans can malama the urban break that helped shape Moore’s skills.
“There’s always a lot of fishing line, degraded Styrofoam and food wrappers that get trapped on the (waterfront) rocks,” Shin said. “A lot of bottle caps, eating utensils and cigarette butts, even though it’s illegal to smoke in city parks.”
More than 100 people have signed up so far, and more are welcome, with coronavirus social distancing to be observed, she added.
There will be drawings for prizes from sponsors Billabong and HIC Surf, and grab- and-go lunches, as long as supplies last.
The cleanup will be held 9:30-11:30 a.m. at Kewalo Basin Park, and preregistration is required at bit.ly/isd2021
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