Maui is the Mecca for windsurfing and Ho'okipa is synonymous with the ultimate testing grounds for windsurfing design and performance. It is the site of annual international competitions that set the pace for the entire sport. Virtually every boardsailor worldwide recignizes the name Ho'okipa and identifies it with the growing wave-riding aspect of the sport. Considered the birthplace of high performance wave riding and jumping, Ho'okipa represents the highest level of accomplishment in the sport and may be the finest wave jumping and riding location in the world.

Ho'okipa was first discovered by veteran boardsailor Mike Waltze. He had recently moved to Maui and was the first to understand Ho'okipa's potential. He tried it himself in 1980. The word spread fast, and by 1982 Ho'okipa had been established as the greatest high-performance surf-sailing location in the world. A network of windsurfing shops, sail lofts, and related businesses sprang up around the island to accommodate the growing influx of sailors. In a very short time, Maui itself was transformed, and the name Ho'okipa became famous all over the world.

This was the place to make your reputation. The magazine photographers were there, the film makers were there, and whatever a boardsailor did at Ho'okipa, he did it to be seen. At Maui's top competitive tournaments every year, so much was on the line: new equipment, new maneuvers, and above all, new names. Among the ranks of the high performers, looking to knock off the established leaders, a go-for-it spirit was in the air. Ho'okipa was the place for the best boardsailors in the world to pull out all the stops. And it remains that place today.

Natural conditions at Ho'okipa are perfect for today's outrageous high-performance surf sailing. Offshore coral reefs catch winter swells, and Maui's northeast tradewinds are funneled through the low-lying neck of the island to create sideshore winds. Like a magnet for boardsailors and their brightly colored gear, the beach at Ho'okipa is a panorama of the state of the art in surfsailing.