Except for the exciting tandem competition, Makaha was a badly run fiasco. The Makaha competition hardly lived up to its “International” classification and without representatives from surfing spots like Australia, South America, France, and South Africa, the Makaha applause was but the sound of one hand clapping.

The day before the contest opened, there was Point Surf booming off the point and crushing through the bowl. When the contest opened, the swell had dropped and the Men’s eliminations were held in small, fun waves.

The surf dropped to almost nothing, the meet was put on a day-to-day basis. Contestants were advised to call each morning to see if their heats were scheduled, but this led to a great deal of confusion and many contestants relied on listening to local radio stations for announcements as to whether the meet was on or off for that day. The Waikiki Surf Club, sponsor of the Makaha International, made it easier for contestants on the north shore to get to Makaha by driving through a military reservation and the Koli Koli Pass. So travel time for the North Shore commuters was pared to an hour.

Suddenly the surf picked up and the Women’s event was underway. The favorite, of course, was 1965 USSA champion Joyce Hoffman of Capistrano Beach, California, described in the program as “clearly the world’s greatest woman surfer.” But some of the other lady competitors didn’t see it that way, and the Women’s Finals nearly turned into open warfare. Constantly under attack, Joyce got few waves to herself and received at least one solid bump on the head. The winner was Nancy Nelson, notching her third Makaha victory. Nancy, of San Clemente, California, rode for all she was worth and stayed out of the battle. She commented later: “I would have hated to have been in Joyce’s position. The way they went after her was horrifying!”

The surf dropped again, then picked up for the tandem competition. This was the contest’s highlight. Just before the finals, Mike Doyle looked around frantically for his partner, Linda Merrill—and no Linda! She was a victim of the badly-announced programming and was at that moment driving frantically to Makaha after learning on the radio that the tandem was scheduled. With no Linda, Doyle spotted Don Hansen’s tandem partner, Danielle Corn of Encinitas, California, and asked if she would fill in. As Mike and Danielle paddled through the channel, Linda came running down the sand—but it was too late. Mike Doyle, even with a new partner, rose to the occasion, taking his third Makaha tandem title that, together with his 3rd-place finish in the Men’s finals, earned Mike the contest award for all-around surfer award.

After the tandem, finals for the juniors were called with many big-name juniors unaware that they would be surfing that day. Among the stars still on the North Shore were Jock Sutherland and the favorite, Jeff Hakman, who had beat ’em all in the Duke competition a few days earlier.

Friends made panicked telephone calls trying to round up missing finalists. Sutherland was surfing in front of his house at Chun’s Reef when his mother got the call from Makaha. She flagged Jock in with a towel and together they sped over the “impassable” back road around Kaena Point trying to save time. Hakman, meanwhile, was on his way when his car was in a minor accident. There were no injuries, but Jeff had to stand by to make a police report, and he never did make the finals.

Sutherland arrived with the finals in full swing with just 15 minutes left. Running down the sand, he grabbed a numbered jersey and clutched it between his teeth as he paddled into position in one of the speediest runs to the lineup the Makaha channel had ever seen. Jock caught five waves—the minimum to be judged—but David Nuuhiwa, who had been in the water the full 55 minutes, was declared the winner, just by a single point. Gracious in victory, the new junior champion commented later: “If Hakman had made it here, I don’t think I could have beat him.”

The surf flattened out for several days. On December 26, the Men’s semifinals were called. This was the last possible day to hold the event because many contestants were flying back to the Mainland the next day. Then, almost on cue, the surf started to come up. During the semifinals, it built from four to six feet, as the contestants started flocking to Makaha. Several were unaware of the contest, among them John Peck, one of the favorites. John got the word at the last minute, borrowed a competition motorcycle and came roaring around the rugged Kaena Point road. He arrived bruised and muddy—but too late for his heat.

The surf gradually got larger and was considered adequate by TV for the finals, although George Downing and others objected. The waves were four-to-eight feet during most of the 55-minute event, and there were some great hotdog performances by Doyle, Dewey Weber, Paul Strauch, Fred Hemmings, and Joey Cabell. Cagey George Downing, who waited for larger waves and rode in the relaxed Island style that is so popular with Makaha judges, was the victor by one point for an unprecedented third Makaha title. Hemmings, Doyle and Buffalo Keaulana were all tied with 36 points for their total score on their best three waves. The judges finally sorted them out by looking back until they found a point difference in the waves they caught during the 55-minute finals.

After the contest, as usual, there were plenty of gripes: the bad organization, the heats crowded with as many as 23 contestants; and above all, the judging. In defense, head judge Wally Froiseth said: “We changed our judging system from last year and have gone from the buoy system stressing the long ride to the 20-point system. But we still feel that a surfer who catches a wave outside and rides it all the way to the shore definitely has more opportunity to perform and will, on average, get more points. Regarding international judges, I feel that until the level of ability in the different countries gets a little closer together, it is not a good idea. I do feel that judges from California are well qualified, and we have asked them to judge here—but we will not use a judge who does not go through our judge's orientation program (usually run well in advance of the contest). We don’t want to tell them how to judge. We just want to be sure they are considering all the facets of surfing we feel are important.”

Another Makaha judge, ex-Santa Monica lifeguard and surfer Dave Rochlen, Sr., had this to say: “The Makaha contest is a crowd event. It is for the public. We spent more time weeding out more people. At Makaha, everybody gets a chance. A guy from Nebraska can come out here and enter. It is planned and executed for the public. And after it is all over—we hope we have produced a champion. The Duke Kahanamoku meet as an invitational is extremely spectacular. But I think there is room in surfing for both.”

What Rochlen failed to mention, however, is that while a mythical surfer from Nebraska can enter the Makaha International, only two non-Hawaiians have won in the contest’s 12-year history. They were California’s Peter Cole in 1958 and Aussie Midget Farrelly in 1962. Year after year, the same names pop up in the finals. In fact, several Hawaiian surfers have been in the Makaha finals almost every year they’ve entered.

Can the surfer from Nebraska win the Makaha contest? Is it really an International event for everybody? Or is the judging geared to an outmoded style that obviously belongs to the past?

George Downing is a great surfer—on the point at Makaha and in big surf. But his victory was garnered in the shadow of questionable judging—unfair to George and other contestants instructed to “perform” in the Makaha contest. The size of the waves George caught gave him the edge. But the question here is why are more points given for an eight-foot wave than a six-foot wave? Certainly no more danger is involved. However, if a contestant riding in the finals on an average 18-foot point day at Makaha picked off a 25-foot wave and made it, he would deserve more points. In that case, the bigger wave is obviously more of a challenge and a greater feat. But Makaha doesn’t claim to be a “ride-the-biggest-wave contest.” According to judge Wally Froiseth, “We still feel that a surfer who catches a wave outside and rides it all the way to the shore definitely has more opportunity to perform and will, on average, get more points.” Evidently, merely the opportunity to perform is sufficient, and George Downing once again has won the annual Makaha “long-distance surfing championship.”

"Pinky" Served Champion Well," Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Dec 27, 1965

"Some people claim there is no sentiment in sports. Well, there is in my sport.” That was George Downing, 35, the only multiple winner of the Makaha International Surfing Championships, doing the talking.

“I won yesterday's event with the same board I used in 1954 and 1962. I've had many other boards and tried them out. But somehow I always come back to Pinky,” Downing continued.

“Seems my feet just feel better when they are on Pinky out on the wild surf.

“Besides, that fickle Makaha surf has never taken any liberties with Pinky. That 28-pound board is almost human.”

"Nancy Nelson Wins Surf Title," Dec 23, 1965, Honolulu Advertiser

Nancy Nelson, a 19-year-old blonde bomber from Long Beach, Calif., caught the biggest wave of the day and rode it like a queen as she captured the women's title in the 13th annual Makaha International Surfing Championships yesterday.

It was the third time since 1962 that Miss Nelson has captured the coveted crown—this one in a fight-filled finale in six-foot waves.

The battles started among the girls when some of the youngsters ran collision courses. The result was some injured feelings—but no broken bones.

Miss Nelson scored 37 points to win by two over controversial Joyce Hoffman, also of Long Beach. Joey Hamasaki, a former Hawaiian now living in California, finished third.

The top finisher for Hawaii was Kati Fuller of Kauai, who came home in fourth place.

Earlier in the day, 12 youngsters made it into the finals in the junior men’s semifinals competition. The leading point scorer was Jeff Hakman, the Duke Kahanamoku Invitational champion. He had 39 points, against 37 for Stan Park.

The girls, however, held the center of the stage—both for their fine surfing and for their battles.

The fighting broke out when Anona Napoleon and Elinor Johnson ran into Miss Hoffman and knocked her off her board. The two girls then went to apologize, but the apologies were not accepted.

Then when they returned to the water, Miss Hoffman ran into several girls, including Bernie Ross, four times.

"If competitors are going to act unsportsmanlike in the water during a contest and then blame everyone else," said Miss Johnson, "it’s not worth entering."

Despite her problems. Miss Hoffman ended up with 35 points to tie with Miss Hamasaki. When the fourth ride was counted. Miss Hoffman was declared the second-place winner.

Miss Nelson is a wrapper and shipper in a department store but says she surfs every chance she gets.

“I had no strategy to win except to ride as well as I could," she said. “I was just lucky to be in position to catch the biggest wave of the day."

For her big ride, she scored 13 points—the best of the day. She had no trouble running into or being hit by other surfers.

1965 Makaha International Surfing Championships

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