"30 HOURS – 100 MILES – ON A SURFBOARD," HONOLULU STAR-BULLETIN (1944)

This unattributed article ran in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin on June 8, 1944. The version below has been slightly edited.

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On October 14, 1940, at 3:45 PM, Gene (Tarzan) Smith left the beach at Kaena Point, Oahu, territory of Hawaii, paddled thru the rough surf and pointed the nose of his surfboard toward the island of Kauai, his destination, 90 miles away.

The channel is considered one of the roughest and most treacherous in the Hawaiian waters. The board used was one Gene has been riding in the surf at Waikiki beach for the past five summers. It measures 14 feet overall and is 1 foot 7 inches wide. The tail of the board tapers off to a point.

Two weeks prior to the scheduled date to take off on the 90-mile grind, the board was laid on two saw horses and the job to put it in shape was started. All the seams were calked to prevent leaking, because a water-filled surfboard is hard for even an expert to control. A special weather shield made of two pieces of plywood three inches high was put on the deck; two inches astern the shield, a waterproof box three inches by three inches was built to carry the one-dollar watch compass purchased from a local sporting goods house.

A flashlight holder, to carry a waterproof flashlight, was set up between the compass and the shield. These were the only special items on the otherwise-standard board. Its total weight was 90 pounds. A pneumatic pillow of rubber to keep "Tarzan’s" head up during the tedious hours, and a hunting knife as a precaution against tropical sea mammals, were fastened to his waist. A pair of colored goggles topped off the list of necessities.

Bob Topping, Honolulu sportsman, donated the use of his new cruiser The Wanderer to act as a convoy during the paddle. From the boat, two members of the Hawaii Surfing Association kept watch and fed Smith at intervals. Soups, cocoa, fruit and chocolate were the only nourishment received during the trip.

Going into the first night, dark clouds hid the moon and the convoy could not be sighted. It was not an uneventful paddle. Many thoughts ran through Smith’s mind: "Am I far enough along to continue without food?" "Is my course set right?” During the dark period, splashes could be heard like the sound of a shark splashing on the surface of the water.

Portuguese man-of-war were the most irritating of anything encountered during the trip. A Portuguese man-of-war, as defined by Webster's, is any of several large sinhonophores (genus Physalia) having a large, crested, bladder-like pneumatophore by means of which they float on the surface of the water. Every time one of the long stringy tentacles of a man-of-war touches the body it leaves a welt and a terrific sting that is remembered for a few hours. Smith was covered head to toe with these stings. With every wave, a few more welts were added to his brown muscular body.

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The second day, about 19 hours after his takeoff, "Tarzan" was leading the boat by about 100 yards. Directly ahead could be seen what appeared to be a pool of oil. The first thought was that this might have been where an army plane might have gone down. When a fin rose from what appeared to be a pool of oil, a different attitude came over Smith as well as those on the convoy.

At the sign of the fin. “Tarzan” relates that he really thought his time had come, and had his hunting knife in hand ready to go down—but not without letting this sea monster know that he had met up with a pretty good man. The boat, being a little out of shooting range, had to circle around before a safe shot could be taken. After putting four or five shots in the sea monster, it was found to be a ray that measured about 12-feet in diameter. The ray is better known to fishermen as a hihimanu, a very curious mammal which grows to be as much as 20 feet in diameter and has been known to overturn boats.

The following two hours proved to be when most of the better time was made. As the second night came on, with land in sight, Smith tells that he thought he was paddling down a street lined with telephone poles. The last few hours were by far the toughest, the seas were rough, waves were splashing over the board, and with every wave a few more man-of-war stings. The windward side of Kauai is hard to beat for rough seas.

The Wanderer was one minute down in the trough of the seas and the next minute riding high on the crest. The continual smashing of the stern and the swish of the waves kept Gene on edge and at the same time awake. Having been blown off his course by the heavy seas and not being able to make Nawiliwili harbor, he was forced west to Koloa about five miles beyond than the scheduled landing point.

The landing was made on Kauai at 9:45 PM on the 15th of October, 30 hours after the takeoff from Oahu, registering an event in the annals of surfboard paddling that had never before been accomplished by man.

To Gene "Tarzan” Smith goes the undisputed record for being the outstanding paddler of a surfboard in the world today.