Birthplace of modern surfing?

[Badger]

Queens IS part of Waikiki so it's not a matter of one or the other. If you really want to know which specific break surfing was re-launched you are asking something impossible. There likely isn't one specific break.  Also it really was Georg Freeth, not Duke who is the father of "modern surfing".  Duke was more an ambassador.  It's a given that neither Waimea or Pipeline was the launching pad of modern surfing.  Check this out"  http://www.surfingforlife.com/history.html

That article claims that modern surfing started with Gidget.   

[surfcowboy]

Robert from Blue Planet will know all the old beach boys to talk to. Or, better yet, go to Waikiki, go to Faith Surf School and ask to talk to Tony Moniz. He's the next generation and will be able to tell you all the stories, rent you a SUP (Robert's are better though) and take you out in a canoe.

Waikiki is definitely s bucket list item and an easy and cheap one at that. Search the board for all the info you need but yeah, "the break" is likely unfindable as there are dozens within paddle distance.

If I had to vote, I'd say Canoes or Queens but I am not sure where locals went to the beach, those are near the first hotels. Be warned, Waikiki isn't very spiritual unless you are there before dawn. By 8 am it's a freeway of boards of every kind people running you over. I love it, but after day one you'll be seeking out other breaks besides the closest ones.

I love that you want to do this. When you go, Hook up a lesson from Robert. I'll bet he can take you to a couple of waves where you can experience that feeling of what it must've been like. There are places that most tourists (to be clear, I'm a tourist too) don't get to, but you won't find them posted on the Internet for sure. And if you do find one, please, no names, pics or social media. Keep those tucked away where they belong, in our memories.

Go, you will find what you are looking for and more.

[surfshaver]

Yes, it's Waikiki.  As far as I know, they started at Canoes, then when the boards and technique got better, they went on to the more challenging reefs like Queens, Kaisers, Publics, and First Break.  There's a great vintage book called Surf Riding by OB Patterson that has lots of great pictures of Waikiki.  Read Matt Warshaw's History of Surfing.  He makes the case that at different times in the modern history of surfing, a single surfbreak was the epicenter of surfing progression and evolution.  In the teens and 20's it was Waikiki.  Between the wars, it was San Onofre.  In the 50's, Malibu and later, Makaha.  In the 60's to early 70's, the North Shore.

[SlatchJim]

If Kelly Slater can ever franchise that wave pool, that will be the start of the Post-modern era.