There don’t need to be huge waves or big crowds or movie cameras rolling for Keala Kennelly to compete in the water. Kauai’s pro big-wave charger was the elite wahine at the fourth annual Walter Caloca Surf Open in Enseneda, Baja California, Mexico.
Held on March 22 and 23, the event was organized by the United Athletes of the Pacific Ocean and serves as a memorial for a local Enseneda surfer named Walter Caloca, who died in a car accident at just 18 years old. The organization states that the purpose for the annual contest is to “symbolize that the ocean has no borders and surfing can bridge the divide between countries and cultures.” Caloca was a founding member of the UAPO.
The contest featured mostly groms and teenage divisions, which made Kennelly the most accomplished and well-known surfer in the event. The UAPO release states that Kennelly used “flawless backhand surfing” in the Women’s final to take the first-place title. She finished ahead of the event’s defending champion and local San Miguel surfer Naara Nunez, who took second place.
There isn’t much that Kennelly hasn’t done to this point of her career. She’s been involved in some of the biggest Teahupoo days ever surfed, bringing the women into the tow-in scene and winning the Billabong Tahiti Pro twice.
She spent 10 straight years on the World Championship Tour and finished second in the tour rankings in 2003. Her career accomplishments were deemed worthy of induction to the Surfing Walk of Fame in 2013, when she was named Co-Woman of the Year along with Sharron Weber.
Kennelly was featured in the 2002 surf movie “Blue Crush,” appearing in a few scenes as herself and taking on Anne Marie Chadwick (Kate Bosworth) in the climactic contest scene at Pipeline. She went on to play the recurring character Kai in the HBO original series “John from Cincinnati.”
In 2011, Kennelly headed to Teahupoo for a heavy session with Bruce Irons and other big-wave specialists. While she has described one particular wave she paddled into as nothing out of the ordinary, it ended up being a pretty massive wipeout that resulted in dozens of stitches and facial surgery after she slammed into the reef. Asked by Surfline how her recovery was going at the time, she had no reservations about getting right back on her board, telling the surf website that she’d be “back in the water just in time for the first North Shore winter swells.”
Now, Kennelly remains an ambassador for women’s surfing and the sport, in general, as evidenced by her decision to participate in the Walter Caloca event. She is also pursuing a career as a DJ, playing clubs around the world and lending her beats to the Caloca after party.
Like Bethany Hamilton, Kennelly is another Kauai surfer showing an ability to branch out and display her diverse talents, but still having great success when finding her way back into the water.
