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Three stamps were issued on August 24th 2002 depicting Surfing in Hawai'i. August 24th 2002 was also the 112th anniversary of the birth of Duke Kahanamoku.
The text on the cacheted envelope reads "In his journal of the late eighteenth century, Captain Cook noted that Hawaiians went surfing and he wrote about the great ceremony of making a surfboard, especially for the Ali'i. But the Missionaries, who first arrived in the 1820's, frowned upon surfing considering it a waste of time. It was not until the early 1900's that surfing became a popular sport again due to the influence of Duke Kahanamoku and others. Born and raised in Waikiki, Duke swam and surfed there in his youth. Later he won Olympic gold medals in swimming and became an ambassador for the Territory. Duke is considered to be the father of modern surfing and a statue of him was erected at Kuhio Beach in Waikiki which is often festooned with many colorful leis."

The $3 stamp (above left) plus the $5 stamp pays for the Same Day rate. It also prepaid a special rate that day for "Surfboard Mail" (see below). The stamp shows Longboard surfing in Waikiki in the early 1900's.

The $5 stamp (middle) prepays the Overnight rate. It shows keiki (children) bodyboarding in Waikiki.

The $8 stamp (above right) prepays the Same Day rate. It shows a surfer on the big waves on the North Shore of O'ahu.

On the same day, a special service was added by Hawai'i Post called "Surfboard Mail". This consisted of a special cacheted cover with a $3 surfing stamp and a special postmark. The surfer left Duke Kahanamoku Beach (in front of the Hilton Hawaiian Village) with a bag of mail at noon. Paddling his surfboard along the Pacific Ocean, the surfer arrived at the Outrigger on the Beach Hotel at about 12.25pm. Mailed covers were available for pick up at the Stamp Show in the Outrigger on the Beach Hotel on Saturday and Sunday August 24 & 25. Only 500 covers were produced and carried by "Surfboard Mail".

(A legal note: The $3 rate is the lowest rate allowed by law for delivering an item by an express mail delivery company in the USA.)

CLICK HERE to view the photos covering the progress of the surfer that day.

A Booklet consisting of 3 panes containing 2 x $3, 2 x $5 and 2 x $8 stamps was also issued. Each pane consists of 2 stamps and has a white margin all around. "© 2002 Hawai'i Post" is printed vertically on the lower right side margin & Hawai'i Security Printers, Honolulu, Hawai'i. is printed on the bottom margin of each pane.

The booklet is stapled twice at the left side. The front cover depicts surfing. The back cover has a list of the postage rates of Hawai'i Post.

Technical details of the stamps and mini-sheet:
Colors: $3, $5 and $8 stamps - Multicolored
Size: $3 & $5 stamps - 48mm x 32mm. $8 - 32mm x 48mm.
Stamps sheet size: 30. $3 & $5 (5 across, 6 down), $8 (6 across, 5 down)
Perforation: 12.
Stamps design: Enelani.
Layout & Pre-press: Enelani.
Printer: Hawai'i Security Printers, Honolulu, Hawai'i.
Printing Method: 4-color (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black) printing process.
Sheet margin markings: HAWAI'I POST (top middle), "Traffic Light" showing 4 colors used in printing (lower left side), © 2002 Hawai'i Post (lower right side) & Hawai'i Security Printers, Honolulu, Hawai'i. (bottom middle)
Paper: GPA coated white stock with water-activated gum on the back.