I intend this blog to be a literal journal–a daily (more or less) record of the things I do. I cover a lot of ground and wind up in a lot of out-of-the-way places, so this will be a challenge, but I’ll work at it. It will also feature instructional articles and videos on the water sports I do, mostly stand up paddle surfing and downwinding. I also plan to add some products for sale.
It’s embarrassing to write about yourself so I’ll take the easy way out and paste in the Wikipedia entry on me. It’s more or less accurate but not very complete. But I guess I can’t complain since I could change it.
Dave Kalama is a big wave surfer, windsurfer, and celebrity watersports enthusiast. Kalama and his family live in Hawaii.
Kalama is credited with the co-development of tow-in surfing, along with Laird Hamilton, Darrick Doerner, and Buzzy Kerbox.[1] Recently, Kalama together with close friend Laird Hamilton have been actively promoting and mastering an ancient Hawaiian mode of water transportation and watersport called “stand-up paddling”, and he has begun a series of increasingly longer solo paddle events between various Hawaiian islands. As a high school age athlete, Kalama was a competitive ski racer and high school football player in the winter sports resort town of Mammoth Lakes, California.[2][3][4]
Kalama is a descendant from a long line of noteworthy Hawaiian watermen; his grandfather brought outrigger canoe paddling to the mainland U.S., and his father Ilima Kalama was the 1962 world-champion surfer and a lifelong outrigger canoe paddler.[5]
In July 2006, Kalama and BamMan Productions business partner Laird Hamilton were jointly awarded the Beacon Award at the Maui Film Festival for “helping to revive the surf film genre.”[6]
Kalama and fellow celebrity surfing pal Laird Hamilton have been featured in big wave riding films and photographs while riding the largest ocean waves in recorded history. For survival, they surf together and only with other wave riders they absolutely trust (critical life-saving rescues from the tow-in watercraft are commonplace–they take turns piloting the craft– trust is paramount). Their preference is the tow-in surfing method (which they co-invented), which affords them the ability to catch the largest (and fastest) of ocean waves; their preferred location is the reef at Pe’ahi (pronounced pay-ah-hee) (commonly called “Jaws”) on the northcentral coast of the Island of Maui (known for holding and breaking the largest waves on the planet); and their preferred riding style is “radical, late take-offs, forceful sweeping drops and turns across the face of 60+ footer waves, exiting over the shoulder of the wave at the end of the ride (to catch a tow ride back outside for another ride, of course)”. Their extreme wave rides, chronicled in film and photographs, are daredevil conquests that do not seem possible (or wise!). They have survived near-death experiences in major “wipe-outs” under mountains of falling water.
Kalama appeared in the opening sequence of the James Bond film Die Another Day.
In October 2006, Dave Kalama, along with friend and celebrity waterman, Laird Hamilton, biked and paddled the entire Hawaiian Island chain—more than 450 miles—in a week. The feat was featured on Don King’s film A Beautiful Son in support of those afflicted with autism. [7]
Kalama won an award for his role in Riding Giants.[8]
1. ^ National Geographic Adventure Interview with Dave Kalama, July 2002.
2. ^ “Surf season riding crest”. sfgate.com. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2001/01/31/surfcol.DTL. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
3. ^ Matt Warshaw (2003). Maverick’s: The Story of Big-Wave Surfing. Chronicle Books. ISBN 0811841596.
4. ^ Bruce Jenkins (2005). North Shore Chronicles: Big-Wave Surfing in Hawaii. ISBN 158394124X.
5. ^ “The Life Aquatic” by Jason Hilford Maui No Ka ‘Oi Magazine Vol. 10 No. 1 (Jan. 2006).
6. ^ “Extreme Surfers to be Honored” The Honolulu Advertiser, June 16, 2006
7. ^ “Hamilton and Kalama Lend a Hand” Maui No Ka ‘Oi Magazine Vol.11 No.1 (Jan. 2007).
8. ^ “Beacon Award for Laird Hamilton & Dave Kalama in Maui”. www.globalsurfnews.com. http://www.globalsurfnews.com/news.asp?Id_news=17190. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
Hello David, I am about to buy a new paddle but i can´t find information about the size of the blade to choose related to heigth or weight or stroke choice of the paddler. I am 5´11´´ tall, 82kg, my paddleboard is a 9´6´´ allround style wich i use in waves to 6 foot. I would like to buy a Quicblade Kanaha All Carbon Large 18″x9″ with 110 SQ. IN. Do you think it will be a good size blade for me or a 100SQ. IN would be better? Now I am using the tatian stroke and I feel great! Thank you for sharing so precious knowledge with us. Marcos
Hi Marcos, Sounds like the 9″ kanaha would be good for you. I use the 9″ for surf and the 10″ kanaha for racing, but I tend to lean towards bigger blades. I think the 9″ is a good all around size.
Aloha, Dave
Kia ora Dave, my name is Dom and im a 29 yr old surfer and environmental activist from New Zealand. I work part time as a chef in a little Mexican restaurant and volunteer the rest of my time to Greenpeace’s Oceans Campaign, promoting sustainable seafood and fishing practices and protecting marine life through the promotion Marine Reserves. I’m always thinking about ways I can highlight these issues and after a Kiwi surfer by the name of Daniel Kereopa introduced me to paddle boarding I cant stop thinking about attempting a long distance journey down the East Coast of New Zealand. I was thinking around 200 miles over a couple of weeks as this would be a record in New Zealand. This seems funny to me as the longest i’ve paddled so far is about 2 kilometers and I don’t even own a paddle board (yet). but as with any journey it starts out as an idea! any information you could give me on the right equipment to use, the best way to plan for long distance trips and how to approach sponsors would help me formulate my plan and be greatly appreciated. I know your a busy man so i thank you for any time you can spare in this regard.
Aroha nui
Hey Dom, I would recommend doing some long paddles and soon, so you can start to get a feel for your endurance. To do long distance paddles you don’t have to paddle fast you just have to paddle for a long time. Just look at it as a normal job, put in a eight hour day or longer. I would recommend the longest fastest board you can find and drink a lot. Nothing will take you down like dehydration so keep hydrated. Best of luck and it’s not a matter of “if” it’s a matter of “will”. Aloha, Dave