Balsa boards with redwood stringers got shorter, lighter, thicker and more maneuverable then changed to foam covered with fiberglass and decorated with fanciful designs. Skegs, the rudders on the rear board bottom, improved directional stability, then doubled and even tripled. Today, boards come in all sorts of flavors to suit body size, skill and use, but the old time 'big guns' and long boards still come out with legendary surfers. Tourists still get lessons from charming beach boys at Waikiki and elsewhere, surf movies with plots unchanged from the days of Annette and the Beach Boys still send teenagers in lust to the beach. The music's louder, the girl's suits and boards smaller, the men's suits baggier, but the surf, the never but ever changing surf remains.
Waves propel, enchant, injure and even kill.
Mainlanders who hear one of the many wave reports by wonder why locals head for North Shore beaches when waves are only 10 or 15 feet tall. Break' is the operative word here. Waves can break on a beach, on rocks or a coral reef. Boards and surfers break when they come apart and a Makaka wave that breaks on your head may feel like getting swatted with a two by four, and the backwash from waves can scrub tourists off a reef or a blow hole overlook. Fortunately, beginners can now learn with soft boards and the help of soft-hearted beach boys to take it personally if you don't have fun and capture some good rides.