THE TITANS



What might at first appear to be simply an evocative photo of a pack of surfers strolling along a Hawaiian beach in the late-1960s is, in fact, a remarkable portrait of the greatest single heat in competitive surfing history. Snapped at the 1969 Duke Kahanamoku Invitational at Sunset Beach, Hawaii, this semi-final matchup featured (back-to-front) Californian super-stylist and celebrated proto-free surfer Billy Hamilton, big wave legend and future Duke winner Eddie Aikau, 1965 World Champion Felipe Pomar, four-time Peruvian national champion Sergio Barreda, 1963 Peru International and ’69 Makaha men’s champion Paul Strauch, 1968 World Champion Fred Hemmings, number-one WSA 4-A men’s and 1970’s world champion, Rolf Aurness, 1968 Duke and Peru International champion Mike “Ironman” Doyle, and multiple Makaha International men’s champion Joey Cabell. Fierce competitors all, no doubt, yet judging by the collective casual demeanor of this phalanx of uber-talented surfers, take a guess who won that year’s title.

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