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SURFING LEGENDS - Rell Sunn
 Rell Sunn The Queen of Makaha
It was the finals of the Tandem Surfing Championships at Makaha. Rell and I were hired to do the "expert" commentating for ABC Wide World of Sports. The director came up to Rell and me and described exactly how he wanted to open the show.
Here it is... "You and Rell go out into the surf, catch a wave, and ride in tandem, with Rell on your shoulders. When you hit the beach, put Rell down and run up to the boom mike and talk into the camera, welcoming everyone to the event...got it?" Obviously the director had not the faintest idea of how difficult the timing and surfing would be. Rell and I paddled out on a huge tandem board. It was our first time tandem surfing together. In the lineup we caught a gentle wave. Rell stood up, grabbed my wrists and hopped onto my shoulders. She rode regally, all the while "directing" me to shore (actually, I am being nice). She told me what do in very explicit terms for the entire wave. We rode up the beach on the back of the wave, stepped off the board and sauntered up to the camera and microphone. I still marvel that we did it just as that naive TV director had outlined. She made it happen by the sheer force of her will and my knowing that if I did not perform as she dictated, she would give me scoldings.
The "sheer force of her will" means Rell was a human of tremendous spiritual strength.
Here are a few things Rell has given back to surfing. Rell created and has produced the Menehune contest for over 20 years. Many of Hawai'i's top pros experienced their first taste of competition in the Menehune contest - ask Sunny Garcia. She was an accomplished and stylish surfer. Rell was a pioneer woman pro surfer. I distinctly remember that Rell, along with the ever-lovely Jericho Poppler, was the most outspoken and strongest advocate for the women of the waves. Rell Sunn is the matriarch of surfing in Hawai'i.
...Fred Hemmings
Rell Sunn passed away after a 13-year battle with cancer, January 2, 1998.
"My favorite place in the world is Makaha. I like to travel and experience many things, but Makaha's beauty, which lies in its people and the water, is my life". ...... Rell Sunn
Photos and portion of the text are courtesy of Fred Hemmings' "The Soul of surfing is Hawaiian", The Surfer's Journal Magazine and Waterman Gallery
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