As one of the islands' standard-bearers of surfing, one Hawaiian wants to further boost the sport in his homeland by building an artificial wave pool just down the road from the beach -- a spot where competitive surfers could always be guaranteed the perfect breaks that are sometimes elusive in nature.
Brian Keaulana stands on Makaha beach in Waianae, Hawaii on Tuesday, May 9, 2023. The prominent Native Hawaiian waterman wants to build another surf park in Hawaii, but opponents say it's a waste of water and pointless in Hawaii, the birthplace of surfing, where a good break is often just minutes away.
"They're profiting off a cultural practice by controlling it by making these wave pools, which are going to destroy the actual beach that is nearby," said Healani Sonoda-Pale, a plaintiff in a civil case seeking to stop the wave pool. "I cannot speak for other Hawaiians. All I can I say is as a Hawaiian ... it goes against my culture."
The lawsuit -- filed in state environmental court by a group of Hawaiians and residents near the proposed site -- alleges the 7 million-gallon artificial pool would damage nearshore limu, or seaweed, and desecrate iwi kupuna, or ancient Hawaiian remains. "The ocean is the greatest treasure that we have," he said, but "it can be flat. It can be big. It can be dirty. It can have, you know, sharks here and there."
His business partner, Keno Knieriem, said waves can be customized with a tap on a tablet, noting an electromechanical system would use panels to generate up to 1,000 waves per hour, mimicking ocean swells up to 8 feet high. Some 80 surfers could work different waves simultaneously: barrelling waves, big waves, kid-friendly waves, Knieriem said.
Sonoda-Pale, who calls herself a water protector, questioned whether a wave pool is really necessary to excel at surfing. While she surfed in her youth, she's no longer an active surfer.
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