Every year in Hawaiʻi, the Duke Kahanamoku Ocean Festival celebrates the life of Native Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku and to honor his Aloha spirit and achievements in surfing and other water sports.
Duke’s OceanFest
The Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Foundation (ODKF) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1986 to perpetuate the spirit and legacy of Duke Kahanamoku.
Duke’s OceanFest is an ocean sports festival held each summer in honor of famed waterman Duke Kahanamoku to coincide with his birthday on August 24th. The event has grown into a weeklong celebration of ocean sports and competition in the aloha spirit on the shores of Waikīkī. There are events for There are events for amateurs, pros, tandems, keiki, and physically challenged athletes.
Competitions include sports that represent Duke Kahanamoku’s legacy as a waterman including Swimming, Surfing, Canoe Paddling, Kayaking, Diving, Water Polo, Sailing, and Volleyball. Registration varies; some events are invitational. All competitions are free for spectators.
Duke’s OceanFest is a non-profit organization whose mission is to share Duke’s celebrated life and the sports he loved. Part of the proceeds go to The Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Foundation in support of their local grant and scholarship program.
2024 Duke’s OceanFest August 16-24
There will be water sport competitions at various locations along Waikīkī Beach, plus other festivities throughout the week at venues in Waikīkī. Festivities include hula, film, and music presentations. Here are some of our favorite events:
- August 16 Opening ceremony at the Duke Kahanamoku Statue (no time posted on their schedule when we checked, but usually early, 7am or 8am).
- August 17, 7:00 am: Na Koa Wounded Warrior Canoe Regatta at Fort DeRussy Beach / Hale Koa.
- August 17-18 Beach Volleyball Challenge (Youth) at Kapiolani/Queen’s Sand Volleyball Courts.
- August 19-20, 10:00am: Foil Team Challenge at Kuhio Beach / Queen’s Surf.
- August 20, 8:00 am: Dogs SURFUR Competition Invitational at Kuhio Beach / Queen’s Surf (Duke Kahanamoku Statue).
- August 21-22, 1:00pm: Hawaii Tandem Surfing Challenge at Kuhio Beach / Queen’s Surf.
- August 24, 8:00 am: Duke’s Waikiki Ocean Mile Swim at Outrigger Hotels and Resorts Waikiki Beach (in front of Duke’s Waikiki)
- August 24, 7:00 am: Special morning lei draping of the Duke Kahanamoku Statue in honor of his 135th birthday.
- August 24-25 Beach Volleyball Challenge (Adult) at Kapiolani/Queen’s Sand Volleyball Courts.
- August 25 Beach Cleanup at Kuhio Beach / Queen’s Surf (registration required)
More info: Duke’s Oceanfest | Waikkīkī’s Premier Ocean Sports Festival (dukesoceanfest.com)
Duke Kahanamoku standing on a beach in Los Angeles, California with a surfboard, circa 1920. For reference, Duke was 6ʻ1″ tall. (public domain)
About Duke Kahanamoku (1890-1968)
Duke’s Creed
ALOHA
In Hawai’i we greet friends, loved ones and strangers with Aloha, which means with LOVE.
ALOHA is the key word to the universal spirit of real hospitality, which makes Hawai’i renowned as the world’s center of understanding and fellowship.
Try meeting or leaving people with ALOHA. You’ll be surprised by their reaction.
I believe it and it is my creed. ALOHA to you.
–Duke Paoa Kahanamoku
Duke Kahanamoku was a humble and grateful man of great character, admired for his sportsmanship on and off the water. One of nine children, the Native Hawaiian was born in Honolulu on August 24, 1890.
Hawaiian royalty were the first surfers in Hawaiʻi. In 1895 and 1890, Prince David Kawānanakoa and Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole introduced surfing—riding ocean waves on long wooden boards—to California and Great Britain, sometimes joined on their trips by other aliʻi (royalty).
Duke is called the “Father of Surfing” because he helped popularize the sport of surfing around the world. Duke lived much of his early life in Kalia, near the present-day site of The Ilikai Hotel in Waikīkī. So, it’s no surprise he took to the water.
An avid surfer, Duke loved “longboards”, cut from koa trees near his childhood home, measuring up to 16 feet and weighing 140 pounds. In 1929, Duke surfed a wave at Waikīkī for 1-1/8 miles, considered one of the longest rides known.
He also became one of the world’s fastest swimmers. As an Olympian swimmer in the 100-meter freestyle and 4×200 freestyle relay, Duke earned Olympic medals in 1912 (Gold and Silver), 1920 (two Gold), and 1924 (100m Silver).
Among his other achievements, “The Duke” worked in over two dozen Hollywood movies. Credited roles included “Mister Roberts (1955),” “Wake of the Red Witch (1948)” and “Lord Jim (1925),” plus many others, always in “native” roles. He also played himself in several documentaries and a 1957 television episode of “This is Your Life.”
In 1940 at the age of 50, Duke married Nadine Alexander, originally from Cleveland, Ohio. Nadine was a dance instructor at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. The couple had no children.
Duke Kahanamoku was sheriff of Honolulu from 1934-1959, until the Hawaiʻi became a state, and the position was abolished.
Duke Kahanamoku died of a heart attack January 22, 1968, at the age of 77. Five days later, people lined the streets on a rain-spattered day as a motorcade made it’s way through Waikīkī. Thousands of people watched from the beach and a fleet of small boats gathered as the canoe carrying Duke’s ashes paddled out from shore. Waikīkī Beach Boys scattered his ashes along the shore break in aloha to the beloved Hawaiian.
Duke’s wife, Nadine Kahanamoku died in 1997 at the age of 92. Her ashes were scattered at First Break to join her beloved husband.
A statue of Duke Paoa Kahanamoku is on Kūhiō Beach in Waikīkī. There are also statues of the Duke in New York, Australia, and New Zealand. He has been inducted into the Swimming and Surfing Halls of Fame, and the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.
In 2021, the original documentary film “Waterman” was released in theaters, following surfing’s first-time inclusion in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games—an idea first proposed by Duke a century ago. “Waterman” chronicles Duke’s life through rare footage and contemporary visuals, exploring the legacy of the legendary swimmer, trailblazer, and undisputed father of modern-day surfing.
More info: Hawaiʻi Waterman Hall of Fame page
Event calendar of free and affordable things to do
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More info: Hawaiʻi on the Cheap – affordable living and things to do (hawaiionthecheap.com)
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