Surfez avec une légende : Apprendre à surfer sur les vagues de la vie avec Bill Hamilton

Les méthodes de l'homme de l'eau sont fondées sur un profond respect de l'océan et une synergie avec lui. Le légendaire surfeur et shaper de Kauaʻi, Bill Hamilton, en est un exemple incroyable. Passant ses journées dans les vagues et sur le sable depuis son enfance, Bill se sent aussi à l'aise dans l'eau que dans sa propre maison, signe révélateur d'un véritable homme de l'eau.

Le surf est devenu la pièce maîtresse de sa vie dès son plus jeune âge, lui offrant un exutoire exaltant pour étudier les eaux et approfondir sa relation avec l'océan jour après jour. Avec le temps, son amour pour le surf a commencé à transcender tous les aspects de sa vie et, très vite, il s'est mis à concevoir et à fabriquer de ses propres mains des planches de surf ultra-personnalisées. Plusieurs décennies plus tard, il continue d'incarner cet esprit, de chérir le temps passé dans l'eau et de façonner des planches de surf personnalisées avec la plus grande attention aux détails.

Nous avons rencontré Bill pour discuter de son parcours unique en tant que surfeur et shaper, de ses spots de surf préférés dans le monde, de l'inspiration derrière ses designs, des conseils qu'il donnerait à son cadet et de son incroyable expérience "Surf with a Legend" au 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay. 

Entretien avec le légendaire surfeur et shaper de Kauaʻi Bill Hamilton

You’ve said that your early lessons in life were taught to you by the great outdoors and watermen. How did nature help to carve your career path?

I continue to thank my parents for providing an awesome environment to grow up in. We moved to Laguna Beach, California in 1950 and settled into a small apartment above the beach with a grand view of the ocean. I had salt water and sand on my body from day one, and I continue to have that to this day nearly 75 years later. The ocean and its surroundings became my teacher as did the people who frequented it. Fortunately for me, the epicenter of surfboard building and wave riding was just a few miles to the south of Laguna, Dana Point. In 1959, at the age of 11, I purchased my first used surfboard from Joyce and Dick Pettit, who happened to be a resin and fiberglass salesman with surfboard and sailboat magnate Hobie Alter and some of the boat designers and builders in Newport Beach, like Joe Quigg. I was surrounded by ocean people and quite naturally became one myself. As a diver and a fisherman, I learned skills that I would later use as a commercial fisherman on Kauaʻi. Probably the most pivotal experience of my life was traveling to Hawaiʻi when I was 14 to surf in the Makaha International contest in December 1963. I fell head over heels for the environment of the islands and discovered at a very young age that I wanted to spend the rest of my life as a lifelong surfer and ocean-born man.

What is your favorite memory of surfing and your favorite place that you’ve surfed? 

Surfing has a magical, almost mystical, and spiritual presence in the sense that you exist purely in the present moment and it's very addicting. The feeling of having saltwater on your body for hours on end also has an electrifying effect on your entire being. Having mastered the surfing technique over many decades of time, I find myself flying over the water with the freedom of a bird. The surfing experience when you reach that level is all-encompassing. I have surfed in many beautiful places throughout the world and discovered a few notable surfing locations. One of them is in France, called Hossigor, and also Nazarre in Portugal in 1968. But the best surfing memories are on Kauaʻi and the queen of all surfing locations, Hanalei Bay.

You’re known as a legend within the surf community for both pioneering the world as a surfer, but also as a shaper. Can you share what inspires your designs?

Making surfboards for good surfers and being able to ride the designs with knowledge of how they work, from small to Mount Everest gigantic. Hydrodynamic theory is constantly being explored. Right now, I am shaping the old surfboard designs from the 14th to the 17th century in Hawaiʻi. The surfboards are incredibly designed and crafted from native wood like breadfruit (ʻulu) and koa and the very light wiliwili. It's amazing to me how advanced the early Hawaiian surfboard designs were. I’m sure they were traveling sideways and at very great speeds. The water ski thinness of the rails and their square hard edges, combined with modern-day thickness and width, made for an exceptional craft. It became a lost art at the turn of the 18th century but was rediscovered in 2006 by a pro surfer in South Africa, who copied one he had seen in a museum in England.

What advice would you give to a younger you? Similarly, what advice would you give to a surfer coming to Kauaʻi for the first time?

Ask me this question 50 years ago, I would say follow your heart. But with wisdom, I will add a bit more. It's important to find and pursue the things you love. It's also important to take inventory of yourself. Who are you? Why are you? The fact that we are given a lifetime with a body to make it well over seventy years on this planet, you need to take care of yourself and check the oil now and then. Remember that the choices you make sometimes will change your entire life, for better or worse. My motto has been to leave this a better place than I found it. Never create chaos in thought or action, and maintain a high degree of light and happiness.

What advice would you give to a younger you? Similarly, what advice would you give to a surfer coming to Kauaʻi for the first time?

Ask me this question 50 years ago, I would say follow your heart. But with wisdom, I will add a bit more. It's important to find and pursue the things you love. It's also important to take inventory of yourself. Who are you? Why are you? The fact that we are given a lifetime with a body to make it well over seventy years on this planet, you need to take care of yourself and check the oil now and then. Remember that the choices you make sometimes will change your entire life, for better or worse. My motto has been to leave this a better place than I found it. Never create chaos in thought or action, and maintain a high degree of light and happiness.

Parlez-nous de votre expérience "Surf with a Legend" au 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay et de ce qui la rend si unique.

Je suis un tailleur qui fabrique des planches de surf personnalisées. Je vous parlerai en détail de votre taille, de votre poids, de votre expérience de l'eau, du type de vagues que vous surfez, des mesures de votre planche de surf actuelle, de ce que vous recherchez dans une planche de surf et de vos souhaits artistiques spécifiques (couleurs, motifs, etc.). En fonction de votre niveau de compétence, je peux vous emmener dans des zones agréables et sans stress, ou dans un territoire de diamants noirs ou doubles. Je suis à Kauaʻi depuis 50 ans et j'ai fondé la première école de surf à Hanalei en 1974. J'aime enseigner et j'ai l'expérience nécessaire pour le faire. 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay propose un large éventail d'offres de bien-être et, dans l'ensemble, si le temps le permet, cette journée pourrait être mémorable. Mahalo !

Surfer avec une légende 

Passez une journée mémorable avec Bill Hamilton grâce à notre expérience Surf with a Legend au 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay. D'une session de surf privée de 90 minutes à un repas privé avec Hamilton lui-même, vous êtes sûr d'acquérir une sagesse inestimable qui s'étend bien au-delà des profondeurs du surf.