“Cabell Comes Back . . . Hoffman Upset; Abellira Repeats,” by Patrick McNulty, 

The stirring spectacle of a great sports comeback victory unfolded off the hot sands of Hawaiis Makaha Beach two days before New Year’s, as the old master, Joey Cabell, turned in one of his greatest performances in the water. For Cabell it was more than a significant surfing triumph; by winning the 1967 Makaha International, Cabell gave notice that he is still in the front ranks of surfing greats and an athlete to contend with in future competition.

Cabell won the 1963 Makaha contest in point surf: biggest water in the competition’s 15-year history. Then Joey’s surfing interest waned and he concentrated on skiing and building a restaurant chain that now stretches from Aspen, Colorado to Hawaii. Joey became a top-rated skier, flashing down the slopes of western U.S. ski resorts. His restaurants prospered in spots like Aspen, Newport Beach and San Diego, and he was on his way to becoming a millionaire. However, Joey’s surfing edge blunted, and by 1967 the name Cabell rarely was mentioned when aficionados talked about the top men in the sport.

But Cabell decided on a comeback and went at it with the same determination that had made him the top name in surfing. He moved to the Islands and daily surfed any waves that offered a challenge. For the two months before the Makaha contest, Cabell spent several hours a day surfing this famous break, and so it was really no surprise when the handsome restaurant tycoon came out on top in the 15th Makaha International—the oldest big-name contest in the sport.

But there were surprises. Martha Sunn, a pert Hawaiian beauty, upset World Champion Joyce Hoffman in the women’s division, and defending junior champion, Reno Abellira, knocked off a tough field that included California stylist Dru Harrison.

As usual, there were plenty of complaints from the California contingent—not about Cabell’s victory—but about the organization and judging. A frequently voiced gripe was the seeding of heats for the semifinals. Critics pointed out that several California stars were lumped into the same heat—thus cutting down the California threat. One heat, for example, featured Bob Cooper, Mike Doyle and Johnny Fain; another, John Peck and Mike Purpus; a third, Steve Bigler and Australia’s Peter Drouyn.

But despite the complaints, the Makaha Championships still had plenty of pageantry: crowds lining the beach, flags and bunting flying, helicopters hovering over the break and, of course, some of the best surfers in the sport scrambling for glory.

The meet was postponed several days because of fierce Kona winds that blew the good, fat swell into unrideable bumps. Many of the contestants took advantage of the Kona and big swell to surf fine waves on the North Shore on the other side of Oahu. In fact, many surfers were so stoked that they didn’t even come over to the other side of the Island when the Makaha contest did get underway.

Finally the Konas settled down, the seas smoothed off, and when the starter’s horn signaled the first men’s preliminary heat into the water the day after Christmas, the contestants paddled out into sets of three to seven feet. There was a light offshore wind, and officials managed to run off the entire men’s preliminaries before the sun set.

Here were a few highlights of the preliminaries: John Peck showed the great style that was his trademark a couple of years ago. Peck was hot! George Downing exhibited again that there’s no substitute for knowing the territory. He used his twenty years of Makaha experience expertly. Rick Steere,wearing the famous red circle and paddle of the Outrigger Canoe Club, won a heat that included the name Jeff Hakman. Hakman didn’t show up. Bob Cooper, the legendary phantom of Point Conception, rode the occasional bowl sets as if he were surfing Rincon. Cooper was outasight. Ed Martin, representing the Armed Forces team, edged New Zealand’s entry, Colin Brookes

Dennis Cassidy, the pride of Windansea Surf Club, fought off a stiff challenge from Hawaii’s John Kelly. Yuri Farrant, of the Long Beach Surf Club, showed consistent style. Ben Aipa took off where he had left off in the Duke contest: driving bottom turns, cutbacks, climbing and dropping. Mike Doyle demonstrated how an old pro rides Makaha. Ray Saragosa

 another Makaha regular, took his heat in a close judging call over Bill Fury of California’s South Bay. Cal Stanton of Hawaii came out on top over Australia’s Geoff Hannan and the East Coast’s threat, Mike Tabeling

 of Hawaii’s surfing Hemmings, was an easy winner. Buffalo Keaulana

well, he lives at Makaha. Hawaii’s Craig Sugihara was declared the winner after it was discovered that the Aussie surfer who had piled up the judges’ points had entered the meet under a false name. Rusty Miller was an easy winner, and Joey Cabell showed the aggressive get-out-of-my-way style that was to spell eventual victory.

Hakman wasn’t alone in missing the starter’s horn. There were several other contestants, including Peru’s Felipe Pomar.

“Surfers have to be on the beach because the waves can change in an hour,” commented three-time Makaha champion George Downing. “It’s unfortunate to see potential winners miss their heats, but it’s their own fault.”

And so the 28 heat winners joined defending champion Fred Hemmings and 19 other seeded surfers into the semifinals. Those seeded included Californians Steve Bigler, Corky Carroll, Johnny Fain, Greg Tucker, Herbie Fletcher, Andy Neumann and Mike Purpus; Hector Grissole, Peru; Jim Hanley, New York; Carlos Hernandez, Mexico; Russ Hughes, Australia; Claude Codgen, Florida; and seven Hawaiians: Leroy Ah Choy, Devin Johns, Mark Sedlak, Paul Strauch, Jr., Rich Trier, Kuikahi Gaylord and Duke” winner Jock Sutherland.

The Makaha image was tarnished somewhat when several top names decided to pass up what the promoters describe as the “greatest event in surfing.” Australia’s Nat Young and ex-Makaha champ Midget Farrelly had been seeded into the semi’s, but didn’t fill out an entry blank. Aussie power surfer Bob McTavish and David Nuuhiwa, a unanimous choice for surfer of the year, also turned their backs on “the greatest event in surfing.”

“Surfing contests—eeek,” commented World Champion Young before taking his short V-bottomed experimental board to the neighboring island of Maui for a crack at the waves of Honolua Bay.

The semifinals and quarterfinals were run off three days later on December 29. The surf was sloppy, mushy and bouncy for the first six heats, but then the water settled down in smooth sets of five to seven feet.

There was some fine surfing turned in and also an upset or two. Young Mark Sedlak knocked off Paul Strauch, Jr., one of the favorites, and Sutherland displayed his smooth but aggressive repertoire to win the heat that included Bob Cooper, Johnny Fain, the little Malibu magician, and veteran Mike Doyle. Mike Purpus and John Peck tied for honors in their heat, and it took an extra wave to decide it with Purpus coming out the winner.

In the semifinals, Cabell and Aussie Peter Drouyn came out on top in their heat that included Sutherland and Sedlak. Sutherland took some daring chances as he had in the Duke contest the week before, but this time his luck didn’t hold. He lost his board attempting a daring roller coaster at the bowl, and the long swim cut his chances victory. However, Jock got a loud cheer from the beach when he caught a wave and body surfed most of way to the beach. Ben Aipa and Leroy Ah Choy moved up in their semifinal heat as Purpus and Downing went down the drain after wiping out near the bowl.

After the semi’s, Meet Director Wally Froiseth commented, “Our reports are that the swells will hold”—and, as usual, the great Island surfer and waterman was correct.

Cabell’s aggressive, but effective, style made the former Makaha champ a favorite, and before taking to water the next day, Joey commented, “The judging has been quite fair and all the people I had expected to see in the semifinals were in it . . . I feel very strong and confident. . . .”

As Froiseth had predicted, the swell held for the finals December 30, and the beach crowd of 3,000 fans rimming the Makaha crescent settled back to watch some fine surfing. They were not disappointed.

Drouyn, the only non-Hawaiian in the lineup, made a gallant bid to take the Makaha championship Down Under. Drouyn showed some excellent surfing, really turning on with fine climbing and dropping and great turns. But Cabell’s months of practice on his home waves of Makaha were not in vain. Riding a gun, Cabell exhibited a different style obviously adopted for the Makaha meet: riding mostly in a semicrouch in trim position—a real departure from the usually smooth Cabell style. Ben Aipa some scary chances on bowl sets and made them all in a fine display of trimming and board control. Leroy Ah Choy, a veteran Waikiki Beach boy, tried some tricky climbing, dropping and turning, and like Sutherland the day before, he took the long swim. By the time Leroy retrieved his board and paddled back out the channel, he had lost valuable minutes and his surfing edge.

Hemmings turned in a consistent .performance reflecting a long friendship with Makaha. Fred caught the biggest wave of the heat for his last ride—boosting him into second place.

There were rumblings on the beach, mostly among Californian and Australian surfers, that Cabell was too aggressive, often dropping in on Drouyn and Aipa. But after the heat was over, there was general agreement that Cabell had turned in the best surfing of the heat. When the judges’ cards were added, the results were (1) Cabell, (2) Hemmings, (3) Drouyn, (4) Aipa, (5) Ah Choy.

Cabell received three first-place votes and two seconds from the five-man judging team perched in towers facing the break. Defending Champion Hemmings got one first-place vote, three seconds and one third. Drouyn got one first, three thirds and a fifth, while Aipa received fourth on all five judges’ cards. Ah Choy was third on one card and fifth on the remaining four.

There was a consolation for Ah Choy, the popular Waikiki regular. He was voted the sportsmanship trophy for his deportment in the waves.

Climbing the announcer’s stand to accept his second Makaha trophy, Cabell pointed to the other finalists and commented, “On another day and another time, all four of these men could win the Makaha title . . . I have been working six months to perfect my style—full speed. I think the days of nose riding are slipping away. I ride full gun in all types of surf.”

When asked about his comeback victory, Cabell said, “I’ve come back to the way I was surfing two years ago. When you’re moving fast, you obviously cover more area and it allows more maneuvering and difficult positions.”

Cabell gave a lot of credit to his board: a nine-foot six-inch spear with a narrow tail. The board weighs 18 pounds.

The women’s competition was close with Martha Sunn, Nancy Emerson of Malibu and Joyce Hoffman battling down to the final wave. Many unofficial judges on the beach had various combinations of finishing for the three. However, officials in the judging towers all rated Martha the best in the small three-foot shorebreak. Joyce Hoffman was second, Nancy Emerson third and Jeri Poppler of Long Beach fourth.

In the juniors, Abellira had to go all out to keep his title. The finals were a real war, and when the judges finally sorted out the cards, Stanley Saragosa was second, followed in order by Neal Norris—the only Californian in the finals, Brant Ackerman, Dennis Pang and Greg Boeder.

The tandem was a crowd pleaser, with veteran Bob Moore ending his competitive surfing career in a real “blaze” of glory. Hoisting Patti Young aloft, Moore wrapped up the competition with a colorful stunt: standing on Bob’s shoulder, Patti held a lighted orange flare that blazed and sparked all the way to the beach. The spectacular ride edged the fine performance of Don Hansen and his pretty partner, Diana Bolton. Third was the team of Wilfred Watanabe and Bobbi Foffon of Hawaii.

Accepting his trophy, Moore, a Waikiki Beach boy, announced his retirement from contest surfing, saying, “It’s a great way to go out. It’s tight competition here; it always is—at Makaha.”

1) Joey Cabell, 2) Fred Hemmings, 3) Peter Drouyn, 4) Ben Aipa, 5) Leroy Ah Choy

1) Martha Sunn, 2) Joyce Hoffman, 3) Nancy Emerson, 4) Jericho Poppler

1) Reno Abellira (2nd in a row), 2) Stanley Saragosa, 3) Neal Norris, 4) Brant Ackerman, 5) Dennis Pang, 6) Greg Doeder

1967 Makaha International Surfing Championships

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