ʻĀpuakēhau Stream
& Waikīkī Beach Boys
Sponsored by: Dukeʻs Canoe Club Waikīkī & Outrigger Waikīkī Hotel
GPS Coordinates: 21.2767°N, -157.8277°W
This area was once a favorite spot for Waikīkī’s famed beachboys, a group of men whose lives were definitive part of Waikīkī’s romantic past. Known by lively nicknames such as Steamboat, Turkey, Splash, Colgate, and Panama, these water sport enthusiasts were instructors, companions, musicians, and goodwill ambassadors. Their clients included Hollywood celebrities and royalty. Today, beachboys are licensed by the State of Hawai‘i to teach surfing and other water sports and must be qualified in life-saving skills. Here on Waikīkī Beach, they continue the traditions of this unique and colorful profession.
The largest of Waikīkī’s three main streams emptied into the sea near where you stand today. The ʻĀpuakēhau (literally, “basket of dew”) slowed through the middle of Waikīkī between the ancient areas unknown as Ulukou and Helumoa until the 1920s Its water, which flowed down from Mānoa and Pālolo Valleys, were then diverted into the Ala Wai Canal. ʻĀpuakēhau had always been a favorite spot for the ali‘i (royals) who enjoyed its cool, clear waters after swimming in the ocean. The mouth of the stream carved out a channel in the ocean bottom that is said to have been the ancient surfing area called Kalehuawehe.
The original Outrigger Canoe Club was located at this site and was formed in 1908 to perpetuate the ocean sports of surfing and canoe paddling. A rival club, the Hui Nalu (“club of the waves”) was formed by Duke Kahanamoku and other Native Hawaiians and part-Hawaiians in 1911, many of its members became the first beachboys.
