In honor of the passing of surfing legend Rabbit Kekai, here are a few photos of him in his prime. The photos were among my father’s collection from the early years of the Waikiki Surf Club. Click on any of the pictures to see a larger version.

[That obnoxious auto correct did damage to the title in the original version of this post. I had corrected the same error in the body, and then it repeated in the title. Aargh!]

December 25, 1948. My dad, Waikiki Surf Club President John Lind congratulates Rabbit Kekai, winner of the first Diamond Head Paddleboard Race.

Winners of the 1st Annual Diamond Head 6-mile Race, Christmas Day, 1948. Winners of the first 10 places. L-R: Rabbit Kekai (#1), George Downing (#2), Robert Krewson (#3), Herbert Bessa (#4), Edward Whaley (#5), Wally Froiseth (#6), Dorian Paskowitz (#7), Frank Freitas (#8), Blue Makua (#9), Russ Takaki (#10)..

More from the early years of the Waikiki Surf Club, probably around 1949=50. Rabbit is on the far right. Next to Rabbit is Rudy Choy, catamaran designer and major supporter of the Waikiki Surf Club in its early years. Second from the left is Ed Whaley, and then David Kapahulehua. It looks to me like this was a team of paddlers from a canoe competition in Waikiki. There was no date on this photo, showing the winners of an unknown competition.

There’s also a sign-up sheet from the WSC’s Christmas Dance, also held in December 1948. Rabbit was #92 on the “Kane” list. There are a few others who signed with their nicknames–Longy, Juja, Brother, and Twinkle, but unlike Rabbit, their identities are probably lost forever.