Threes is the third surf site from east to west on the reef that begins off the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel and ends at the Kaiser Channel. The two surf sites that precede it are Populars and Paradise. During the late 1950s, young surfers from the Outrigger Canoe Club "discovered" the site and named it Number Threes. The club was then still in the center of Waikiki Beach at the site of the Outrigger Waikiki Hotel. Threes is an abbreviation of Number Threes. Also known as Number Threes. (from John Clark's Hawai'i Place Names)

editor's note- the dot denoting Threes, of course, does not correspond to where the break really is. No surf at Kapiolani Park. It never breaks. The ghost of Butch Van Artsdalen promised his friends that he would never tell even one more person about the break. He has kept his promise for 11 years.

the ghost of Butch Van Artsdalen, 2003

Threes is the quintessential break. It has a perfect right (for longboarding). It has a long wall. It peels right off and it barrels more times than not. Threes is one of the furthest breaks, if not the furthest. It is about 450 strokes out, breaking anywhere from 1/3 to 1/2 of a mile from shore. The distance keeps a lot of surfers away.

I found it by accident. The day I arrived in Hawai’i in 1992, I went straight into the water right outside of the Sheraton. I drifted, unintentionally, to Threes.

There were already a lot of people there. Most were regulars. I had to bide my time to catch a break. Some days, I would be there for 5 hours and only get 3 or 4 rides. I had to show my respect to the regulars by not taking every ride. It took a couple of weeks of me going every single day for them to finally get the idea that I wasn’t going to go away.

I moved to an apartment close by just so I could surf Threes every day. The only free parking on my street had just been eliminated, so this reduced the number of surfers going there.

The way that Threes got its name is debatable. Some say that it is named for all the things that happen in threes here: it has three breaks going out and three breaks going sideways (i.e. it has three different spots it can break at). There is also a story that there were three brothers who use to surf here all the time.

Others say that it was named after Lifeguard Tower #3 that was on shore there. This is the explanation that makes the most sense to me, cause the next break is called Fours (after Lifeguard Tower #4).

The season in Waikiki is in the summer. Mother’s Day kicks it off and is traditionally known as the best day to surf. There is usually a major swell at this time. Surfers are extra nice to their mothers for weeks before this so that it will swell that day.

In 1995 there was an exceptionally big swell at Threes. The kind of swell that occurs only once every 20 or 25 years. It lasted for two weeks. Waves got up to 12 feet high (measured the old-fashioned way from the back of the wave). Some say they were even bigger. All the greats were there!