TOUR SCHEDULE
Thurs., June 24, 7-10pm:  Surfrider Signing party at Fontana’s Bar
105 Eldridge St. (Lower Eastside), NY 10002 (212-334-6740)
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Sat., June 26, 4-6pm:  Signing at Main Beach Surf & Sport
27 Montauk Hwy, Wainscott, NY 11975 (631-537-2716)
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Sun., June 27, 2-4pm:  Surfrider Signing party at the Surf Lodge
183 Edemere St., Montauk, Long Island, NY 11954 (631-668-1562)
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Fri., July 2, 8-10pm:  Surfrider Signing party at Rita’s Seaside Grill
2 Center Street, Folly Beach, SC 29439 (843-588-2525)
View the Invite

ABOUT FIERCE HEART

Makaha literally means “fierce,” and this community represents the heart of Hawaiian culture.  Surrounded by jagged green mountains on one side and a powerful blue sea on the other, the small town of Makaha has produced some the most talented watermen in the world and Hawaii’s biggest icons.  FIERCE HEART is the biography of their community and a portrait of their people.  Starting with the rise of the Makaha International Surf Classic and Hawaii’s statehood in 1959, the story focuses on two generations of the Keaulana clan, one of surfing’s most famous families.  After winning the Makaha International in 1960, Buffalo Keaulana sailed on the maiden voyage of the Hokule’a in 1976 and went on to become one of Hawaii’s legendary surfers, lifeguards and community leaders.  His legacy has only grown with his sons and extended family in Makaha.

Along with being an accomplished lifeguard, big-wave surfer and Hollywood stuntman, Brian Keaulana pioneered the use of jet skis to perform rescues and revolutionized ocean safety in the process.  His brother Rusty won three world longboarding championships in a row.  Rell Sunn and Israel Kamakawiwo’ole were like older siblings, and they became the stars of Makaha during their short, brilliant lives.  Sistah Rell was Hawaii’s first female lifeguard, a pioneer in women’s professional surfing and a community activist.  Starting out with the Makaha Sons and then going on his own, Bruddah Iz eventually became the biggest artist in Hawaii and the voice of the Hawaiian Sovereignty movement.  Like shooting stars, Rell and Iz blazed a bright trail acorss the Hawaiian sky, but their lives burned out too soon.  On the 50^th anniversary of statehood (and Israel’s birth), FIERCE HEART chronicles the history of Hawaii’s wild Westside and the enduring legacy of its leaders.

Originally from Charleston, S.C., Stuart H. Coleman moved to Hawaii in 1993 to teach, write and surf.  Coleman has taught at Punahou School, Iolani School and the East-West Center. His writing has appeared in numerous publications, including Men’s Journal, Salon.com, Sierra Magazine, Surfer’s Journal, The Washington Post, USA Today, Honolulu Magazine, Hawaii Magazine and Charleston Magazine. Coleman is the author of the award-winning book Eddie Would Go.  He currently works as the Surfrider Foundation’s Hawaii Regional Coordinator and will be making donations from sales to Surfrider, the Rell Sunn Educational Fund and the Hawaii Junior Lifeguard Program.  For more information, go to:  www.stuart-coleman.com or www.eddiewouldgo.com.

The sun is out, and the surrounding cliffs are packed with thousands of people who flocked to Waimea Bay early this morning.  Traffic is lined up for miles in both directions of the Bay, and fans around the world are watching the event on their computers and on stations like ESPN.  Cameras line the beach, and the crowds hoot and holler as each giant set rolls through the Bay and the ant-sized surfers drop down the faces of these massive waves.

Last Thurs., all of the invited surfers gathered at the Bay for the opening ceremony of the contest to pay their respect to Eddie Aikau, who saved hundreds of lives as a lifeguard at Waimea and surfed the biggest waves ever to come through the Bay.   The Aikau family’s minister told the story about how Eddie was lost at sea after trying to rescue his fellow sailors aboard the capsized sailing canoe Hokule’a.  The minister blessed the surfers and invoked Eddie’s spirit to watch over them during the contest.  

At the end of the ceremony, the contestants paddled out to form a circle near the Hokule’a, which had sailed over to pay homage to the fallen hero.  It was a beautiful and moving moment as the best surfers in the world shared memories of the iconic Hawaiian.  With all of the thrills and spills of the Eddie Contest, family, friends and fellow big-wave riders still remember that it was Eddie’s spirit of aloha and dedication to helping others that make this contest so special.  For more info about the event or Eddie, check out excerpts of “Eddie Would Go” on Amazon.com and read the book about his inspiring story!

FreeSurf Magazine: Tell us a little about Fierce Heart.
Stuart Coleman: It’s a portrait of a community and that community is Makaha, on the Westside of O‘ahu. It’s one of the least-understood places in the islands with one of the higher populations of Hawaiians, and its background as the birth of professional surfing makes it a unique and special place. The Makaha International in 1954 was really the very beginning of professional surfing.

FSM: Is the book a historical piece?
Coleman: I give some background history about the place itself, but then I focus on two generations of the Keaulana family, starting with Buffalo and ending with his sons, Brian and Rusty. It also includes their extended family of Rell Sunn and Israel Kamakawiwo‘ole and some of the larger- than-life characters on the Westside.

FSM: How long did the research take?
Coleman: About four years, start to finish. When I was doing research on Eddie Would Go, I met Brian Keaulana and he introduced me to his family and they showed me so much aloha, an incredible family in an incredible place. They really are the greatest watermen in the world, and in the back of my mind I was also thinking that someone needs to write about them.

FSM: The Westside has a bad reputation for being the Wild West, are there any myths you dispel in your book?
Coleman: That was part of the reason why I was interested in writing about this place because there were so many stereotypes and myths about the wild Westside and how rough it is. It’s a touchy thing because it is a rough place and people there will tell you that you have to be tough to survive on the Westside. I got the title because Makaha literally means fierce. And yet, the contradiction is that they have so much heart, and this is where you’ll find a glimpse of ancient Hawaiian culture. It really is full of aloha.

FSM: Aren’t stereotypes just exaggerations of reality?
Coleman: I think they’re fiercely protective of their culture and community because, in many ways, this is where is most of the Hawaiian Homestead lands are, and they were pushed into the corners of the island. They’ve seen their culture being taken away as people move in and take over their island. This is kind of the last stand, a place to protect what they have, and a way of life. It’s still very traditional and Hawaiian.

FSM: Can you surf anywhere you want now on the Westside?
Coleman: When you have the blessing of the Keaulanas it’s always good [laughs]. It’s always good to go down there and know somebody. But like Brian says, people on the Westside are extreme people, if you treat them well, they treat you extremely well. If you treat them bad or disrespect them, they’ll treat you extremely badly.

FSM: Do you see surf culture being more palatable to the mainstream than in previous years?
Coleman: I’ve been a lifelong surfer, but I was a little frustrated by books that were just about surfing, written by surfers for surfers. What I try to do is show a full picture of not just surfers, but watermen and Hawaiian culture, and the lifestyle of people who love being in the ocean. And that includes sailing, diving and swimming. I didn’t know if there would be a market, but I am trying to tell more people that these are fascinating individuals, whether they surf or not.

—Kevin Whitton

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, May 15, 2009

  

JEFF DIVINE / COURTESY ‘FIERCE HEART’

(A picture showcased in Stuart Coleman’s book, “Fierce Heart,” includes Brian Keaulana surfing at Makaha — a cover shot for Surfer magazine in 1980.)

A book takes on greater personal value when the author autographs it for you.  The book is Coleman’s take on life in Makaha and several of the best-known residents of the area — Buffalo Keaulana and his sons, Rusty and Brian; the late Rell Sunn; and Israel Kamakawiwo’ole.

Born and raised in South Carolina, Coleman came to Hawaii in 1993 by way of Los Angeles on a mission to teach, write and surf. He has been best known until now as the author of “Eddie Would Go,” a biography of the late Eddie Aikau, and his work documenting the accomplishments of the Keaulana ohana.

“Fierce Heart” recounts the contributions of the Keaulana ohana as competitive surfers and community leaders, along with Brian Keaulana’s leadership in promoting ocean safety and work on “Baywatch Hawaii” and other local television and film projects. Coleman’s account of the life of Rell Sunn will touch the heart of anyone who knew her.

Coleman’s coverage of local music is less reliable. For instance, for all of Henry Kapono Kaaihue’s accomplishments, Henry was not “one of the first Hawaiian musicians to achieve international success.”

Sumo fans will also be astounded to read that “Saleva’a Atisonoe (Konishki) was the first American to achieve celebrity status in sumo,” when Jesse Kuhaulua (Takamiyama) paved the way for foreign-born sumo wrestlers in the 1960s and early ’70s.

Glitches and misspellings aside, Coleman’s book-signing tour is a co-promote for his work with the Surfrider Foundation and its campaigns to protect Hawaii’s oceans and beaches. The EcoLounge also deserves support, so, ocean sports fans, why not stop by Indigo, enjoy the party and congratulate Coleman on getting his book out?

By Stuart H. Coleman

On their three-month journey from Long Beach to Honolulu aboard the recycled Junk, Marcus Eriksen and Joel Paschal found plastic in the stomachs of fish caught in the mid-Pacific. “Plastic is forever,” Eriksen blogged, “and it’s everywhere.”

On June 1, 2008, two men on a strange raft called Junk set sail from Long Beach, California, on a 2,600-mile voyage to Honolulu, Hawaii. The pontoons of their aptly named craft were made of 15,000 plastic bottles and discarded fishing nets; the deck, of old sailboat masts; and the cabin, from the fuselage of a Cessna.

Marcus Eriksen and Joel Paschal had hoped their voyage on Junk would raise awareness about the vast expanse of plastic debris in the Pacific Ocean. “We were two crazy guys with a crazy idea,” Paschal says, laughing. The eco-mariners met at the Algalita Marine Research Foundation while researching the plastic pollution swirling around in the North Pacific Gyre. “It’s like a toilet bowl that never flushes,” Eriksen wrote on the duo’s blog,junkraft.com.

Before launching his expedition, Eriksen spoke with British adventurer Roz Savage, who was planning her own voyage to raise awareness about plastic marine debris in conjunction with the Blue Frontier Campaign. Having already rowed across the Atlantic several years before, she hoped to become the first woman to row across the Pacific. Savage and Eriksen talked about coordinating their efforts, but she left San Francisco before they could connect again.

More than two months into their respective journeys, the boats came within 100 miles of each other. Paschal’s mother had been reading Savage’s blogand heard that her water desalinator was broken. She called her son via satellite phone, and Junk was able to make radio contact with Savage and locate her on radar.

Savage had plenty of food and no water, and the other boat had lots of water but very little food. “Fortunately, when I met up with the guys on the Junk in mid-ocean, we were able to do a trade,” Savage says. After a fine dinner of freshly speared mahimahi, she says, “we cut through all the small talk and got down to discussing the environment and how we could collaborate.”

After three hours, Savage rowed into the sunset. Two weeks later, the three activists reunited in Honolulu to highlight the environmental dangers and health risks of plastic marine debris. Standing with Eriksen and Paschal in front of their vessels, Savage summed it up: “If we have sick oceans, we’re going to end up with a sick planet and sick people.” 

Photo: Peter Bennett/Ambient Images

(http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/200905/message.aspx)