Steve Cooney Surf Contest & Air Show at Ho'okipa

art by Jud Lau


The annual Steve Cooney Surf Contest & Air Show was held October 8, 2011 at Ho'okipa Beach Park. It was a day of fun and competition that was attended by many of Maui's top pro surfers, amateurs and plenty of kids. The annual contest is held in honor of Steve Cooney, pro Maui H.G.A. surfer, who died in a car accident in Haiku in November of 2004. Steve’s surfing style and ability to boost airs on the waves, became famous via many surfing magazines and videos throughout the world. His personality made him famous among all that had the pleasure of knowing him.

The legend of Steve Cooney lives on in tattoos etched on surfer's backs, on stickers that adorn their trucks' bumpers, classic surf videos such as HGA's "Easily Amused", the annual contest and in our hearts.

Check out this old-school video of Steve Cooney below. I believe it was posted on youtube by Dennis Early (Friction Films) and filmed mostly by Chris Tronolone & Dennis over a decade ago. There are a couple shots of Steve at Honolua Bay in this video that I filmed myself : ) (Sorry - the music it's edited to has vulgar language.) It's not the highest quality of a download, but you'll get the idea of Steve's highest level of talent.



This year's Steve Cooney Surf Contest & Air Show was sponsored by Volcom, Hana Highway Surf (Jud and Kelli Lau), Ho'okipa Grom Association (H.G.A.), Mana Foods, Flatbread Pizza, Pa'ia Bay Coffee. (Let me know if I left anyone out!) They had over 140 competitors, including 55 in the pro-am division and over 20 in the mini-grom (8 & under) division. It was great to see all the up-and-coming Maui surfer groms. I'm sure Steve would be stoked to see all the airs and 360's the kids were pulling! Check out www.hanahwysurf.com to see action photos from the event.

Even though the waves were pretty small that day, there were some good sets that came through and there was some great Ho'okipa action. It was a beautiful day of family fun.

The way someone surfs tells a lot about their personality. Steve Cooney charged, made us laugh, lived on the edge and followed his dream. I clearly remember his sweet voice, contagious humor and warm hugs. I also am sure Steve's surf style has influenced many young surfers including both of my sons. Thank you Steve for living so brightly and thanks to all the boys, girls, men and women for continuing the sport & art of surfing!


Steve Cooney Contest t-shirts are available for sell for $20. To purchase yours, send an e-mail to hanahwysurf@hawaiiantel.net.

Tai Van Dyke

Sai Smiley and Ahanu Tson-Dru going out for their heat

Sai Smiley

t-shirts for sale: $20 at hanahwysurf@hawaiiantel.net

Kiva Rivers

Jade Lucas

The Judges

My grandson, Kainalu, and daughter-in-law, Una

My son, Taylor with his son, Kainalu

Me enjoying the contest!



CONTEST RESULTS (courtesy of Hana Hwy Surf)

Pro-Am
1 Albee Layer
2 Kai Barger
3 Ahanu Tson-Dru
4 Kaleo Roberson
5 Kiva Rivers
6 Granger Larson

Junior Men
1 Tyler Larronde
2 Dylan Aoki-Walsh
3 Kaimana Kinimaka
4 Tosh Peila
5 Kai Grissom
6 Makana Johnson

Grom Boys
1 Chaz Kinoshita
2 Kelson Lau
3 Ean Kimmel
4 Ridge Lenny
5 Alex Medeiros
6 Kala Willard

Menehune
1 Ethan Bediamol
2 Marco Rista
3 Logan Bediamol
4 Nick Nunez
5 Ty-Ty Kirby
6 Axel Rosenbald

Mini-Groms
1 Tony Nunez
2 Conner Prados
3 Eli Hanneman
4 Ocean Macedo
5 Jackson Bunch
6 Chase Anderson

Open Women
1 Mirabai James
2 Lani Silva
3 Danielle Kiersz
4 Anna Frye
5 Serene Gunnison
6 Tasha Jahrmarkt

Teeny Wahine
1 Sophia Johnston
2 Daize Kinoshita
3 Kailee McCarthy
4 Lehiwa DeVault
5 Kawai DeVault
6 Tatiana Ringsby

Airshow
1 Albee Layer
2 Justice Patao
3 Matt Meola
4 Kelson Lau

Mahalo and Aloha to all that organized and participated in this year's contest!

Twin Falls, Huelo

My friend, Emily, texted me to see if I wanted to go with her on a walk at Twin Falls last week. With her excited dog, Lucky, in hand, we headed to the jungly property with majestic waterfalls. Twin Falls is located in Huelo, just off Hana Highway, as the road starts to become so famously windy. As you enter the private property, a colorful converted bus offers an abundance of fruit and local treats for sale and is operated my some of the land owners, I hear.
It's a shady walk amidst lush greenery and a bounty of tropical flowers. I felt immediately calmer as I breathed in the fresh tropical air. Some days are very busy with tourists at Twin Falls, but this day was pretty mellow.
We ran into a family of locals who were jumping off the cliff at the first waterfall. We didn't want to disturb their fun and decided to stay up top. There wasn't a lot of water running - I've seen it much stronger, but it was enough to refresh us. We took a quick dunk in one of the small pools above the waterfall drop-off, as Lucky ran around exploring.
We continued to walk for awhile along the road as I snapped photos of some of the vivid flowers. We got our hearts pumping and worked up a sweat as we walked briskly and caught up on each other's fascinating lives (ha ha!).
We were ready to get wet again, so we walked to another waterfall and took a cool dip. A couple boys were jumping off the cliffs but were not near the main fall. I talked Emily into swimming under the waterfall with me. It was invigorating! Such a great way to cool off on a hot autumn day on Maui!!
Things to be aware of at Twin Falls:
1. Jumping off waterfalls and cliffs can be dangerous - always check the water's depth and look for rocks in the water before jumping.
2. Mosquitos - they usually leave me alone but I had some monster bites! I suggest Avon's "Skin-so-Soft" to ward off the critters.
3. The rocks can be very slippery along the water so be verrry careful.
4. Be aware that some of the roads lead to private residences. Be respectful of their privacy.
5. Take care of the aina. Remove your trash!
6. Always a good idea to explore with a friend.
7. Bring some water - it can get hot!
8. During rainy season, flash floods are very possible.
9. In the jungle, things can fall from above. Be aware of falling tree branches, coconuts and loose rocks or cliffsides.
Have fun, respect nature and be safe!

Ms. Emily Sullivan

Maui Film Office Industry Meeting

Harry Donenfeld, head of the Maui County Film Office, held an open meeting at the Kahului Community Center on September 26th for all producers, directors, casting agents, location managers, camera operators, and actors involved in our islands' film industry. The meeting was held to discuss the future of the film industry in Maui County and to gather more information about the types of services, equipment and talent that is available for film productions here.

“Maui has had a lot of press lately about being a great location for filming and we’ve been getting a lot of inquiries,” Donenfeld said. “We needed to gather everyone together in one spot and get an idea of what we have that’s available for these productions.”

Mayor Alan Arakawa spoke at the meeting about his intent to expand the film and production industry on Maui and is reaching out to mainland and international production companies to do their productions here. He recently made a trip to Korea to encourage professionals in Korea's fast-growing film and tv industry to bring their productions to the valley isle. The Mayor also announced that the County has recently approved a $7 million dollar fund to promote more production on Maui. Where exactly this funding will be allocated is still yet to be determined. There is discussion that the County will be supporting the development of a soundstage on Maui that will intice professional tv and film production from all over the world. Mayor Arakawa assured the attendees that some of the funding will also go toward local Maui productions.

Teena Rasmussen, Maui's Office of Economic Development Coordinator, praised Donenfeld for the experience and enthusiasm he brings to the Maui Film Office. Donenfeld said he would also like to produce more sporting events on Maui. He is currently working with others to plan an upcoming windsurfing and kiteboarding event on the island.

The meeting was standing room only as Maui's production professionals poured in to hear the future plan's of Maui County's administration. The crowd applauded when Donenfeld said that the goal of Maui's Film Office is to encourage production companies who come to Maui to hire the talented professionals who live here. He added that we have a plethora of videographers, sound engineers, location scouts, editors, grips, producers, scriptwriters and actors have made Maui their home and that the County supports increasing job opportunities for our production professionals.

The meeting included a question and answer session and attendees were asked to fill out a questionnaire to provide the County information about all the crew and equipment resources that are available on Maui. Rasmussen thanked Akaku Community Television for filming the evening's meeting and for providing television production education to members of Maui County.

Mayor Arakawa, Teena Rasmussen and Harry Donenfeld

Me and Lou Diliberto, one of Maui's best cinematographers

Maui Ocean Center

It was a hot September day and my daughter-in-law, Una, and I wanted to find a cool place to spend the afternoon with my 16 month-old grandson, Kainalu. Since Kainalu recently got a book about boats and learned how to do sign language for boat, i thought it would be fun to take him to Ma'alea Harbor and then to Maui Ocean Center.
The dock at Ma'alea Harbor is currently under construction so we weren't able to get a close look at most of the boats, but Kainalu seemed to enjoy the view anyway!
Maui Ocean Center was the perfect way to spend the afternoon. Kainalu was mezmorized and delighted by the turtles, jellyfish, manta rays, sharks and fish and so was I! There was lots of interesting sealife including the sharp-horned unicorn fish and the frogfish that camouflages itself to blend into the coral and rocks around it.
The Ocean Center staff gave us lots of fun ocean facts and there were cool interactive games like the one where you can record yourself trying imitate a dolphin's call. The amazing aquarium provided us relief from the heat and watching the spectacular sealife proved to be very relaxing.
Kainalu especially enjoyed sitting next to the tank with the oversized Emu fish that swam by his head as he made the swishy sign language with his little fingers for "fish".