Duke Kahanamoku Invitational
Annual surfing meet held on Oahu's North Shore, usually at Sunset Beach, from 1965 to 1984; named in honor of Hawaiian surfing pioneer and Olympic gold medal swimmer Duke Kahanamoku; regarded until the mid-'70s as surfing's premier competition. The Duke event was developed by Kimo McVay, Honolulu entrepreneur and Kahanamoku's manager, partly as a marketing device for the just-opened Duke Kahanamoku's restaurant and nightclub in Waikiki. Newspaperman Leonard Lueras and big-wave surfer Fred Van...