Page 1 of Try Easy

Prologue

Sunset Beach,North Shore Hawaii

March 20, 1966

Three men carriedtheir surfboards into the glassy blue water of Hawaii’s North Shore. The sun was high overhead, and not a single white cloud dotted the blue ceiling of sky. Sunset Beach didn’t have the biggest or the longest waves on Hawaii’s 208 miles of shoreline, but it did have consistency. Sunset Beach wasn’t fickle. It didn’t rage during a storm like Waimea Bay or flip riders into somersaults like the backwash of Makaha’s Bowl, but it did offer steady, year-round waves.

For those who sought them, Sunset Beach always offered a wave to surf.

The three men were best friends and closer than brothers. They were from different backgrounds, but one thing had brought them together: their love for the ocean. They were the descendants of a sailor, a warrior, and a merchant. They had all been born in Hawaii, but only one of them considered himself to be Hawaiian.

The men were three of the best surfers in Hawaii, and therefore, the world.

Each of them had big plans for their future and dreams of a life just beginning.

One of them was planning to propose to the girl he had loved since high school.

One had just signed a contract with a surfboard company and was poised to compete in every major surfing contest across the world for the next two years.

The third man was Hawaii’s beloved son. At twenty-three years old, he was already a legend in big-wave surfing. He dreamed of bringing Hawaii the world recognition it deserved, and he was willing to risk everything to make a name for himself on the waves.

The three men strode into the turquoise waters of Sunset Beach with their boards under their arms and their minds on their dreams. Only two of them came out alive.

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