A beautiful contribution to our surfing heritage by Crystal Thornburg-Homcy.
For those of you who don’t know who Rell Sunn is, you should. She was a pioneer Hawaiian waterwoman who fervently embodied the spirit of Aloha. She was Hawaii’s first female lifeguard and is widely known for the contest she annually put on for kids in Hawaii. The more deeply you delve into the story her life, the more you learn about the vastness of her generosity and come to realize that even though she never experienced financial “security” herself (she never made much from her wide media exposure) she still continued to shared all that she had with others.
I’m sad that I’ll never get to spend time in the presence of Rell, the strong, beautiful waterwoman that she was, but am so thankful for her legacy of relentless Aloha and balance of femininity with strength and athleticism. She is a shero for us all.
