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 The Locals Rule the River
Haiku, Maui
Photos by Ed Suzuki
Nelson Armitage comes from a long line of Hawaiian royalty. A direct descendant of King KeKaulike, Nelson migrated from Makaha on the West Shore of Oahu to the North Shore of Maui. The ranch he has built is the result of many years of hard work doing many things. From fishing to water rescue, his life has always been centered on the ocean. He and his family etched out a slice of heaven in the hills of Haiku and he put out the warmest welcome to our team.
It was time for the King to ride. Nelson was entranced with the motorized surfboard from the moment he heard of it. He was a true waterman and experimented with many different watercraft over the years. He had invented a motorized surfboard himself in the early '70's for fishing the waters off of Lahaina. He didn't know what to expect, but there was no hesitation. Nelson took off from under the trees as the tree line surrounded the river and came out over the water by 15 feet or more. This not only made it interesting for the takeoff, but the best place to watch the action was from in the trees.
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| Nelson was very strong in the water, performing stylish turns in all areas of the river. His excitement was contagious and everyone was smiling as we watched Nelson with his new toy. Nelson told us how excited he was to ride the Powerski Jetboard in his seasonal river as most of the time the boys are riding motorcycles and atv's in this same riverbed. On the property they had all the toys; a variety of boats, Seadoo & Honda watercraft, motorcycles and large selection of surboards, tow-in boards, hydrofoils and / |
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| Next up was his son Nelson Jr. who inherited his dad's electric smile and incredible attitude. Nelson quickly showed how comfortable he is on any watercraft. The ability to turn in such tight areas for your first ride is very impressive. Also to ride was Nelson's younger son, Naalii, Tristen "Turtle", Dustin Moepono, Zay the Brazilian, Ed and Kai Suzuki. Nelson's tales of tow-in surfing into huge surf at Jaws or water rescue at Tehaupoo kept us all entertained while we sat in the trees watching the Hawiaans ride, one after another. We all realized this jetboard experience would be added to his long list of incredible experiences. |
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| Other chapters from this trip include:
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