Summer Macedo is sponsored by Bulkley Surfboards, Roxy, Prolite Accessories, Mokulele Airlines and Maui Jims Sunglasses.

LAHAINA – The rising tide of the current generation of West Side aqua-athletes continues to grow with the ascent of the newest lineup of rippers raised in the pristine waters of leeward Maui. And leading the charge in the new millennium is a Lahaina cadre of energetic surfers that includes Dusty Payne, Clay Marzo, Eli Hanneman, Zane Schweitzer, Granger Larsen, Lara Claydon and a bright new star in 18-year-old Summer Macedo.

The elder child of Jennifer and Ronaldo Macedo of Lahaina (her younger brother, Ocean, is also among the youngsters gaining waveriding notoriety on Maui), Summer shines on as one of the outstanding female surfers – not only in Hawaii, but on the world stage as well.

The ever-burgeoning trophy shelves in the Macedo household include Summer’s Hawaii State Juniors Championship at age 12, the 2015 ISA Junior World championship and the 2015 Rip Curl Gromsearch National championship. In 2017, she won the Surfing America National title and the NSSA National Open Women’s gold medal, and in the current year, Summer earned a runner-up finish at the World Surf League World Junior championships and a copper medal at the ISA World Games.

Like so many surfing families here on the West Side, the Macedo clan ventured into the warm, aqua crystal waters of Maui’s south shore almost on a daily basis. And Summer took her first dip before she could walk and was out on a surfboard with dad at two years young at the family home break at Puamana Park.

As she gained confidence in her surfing ability as a youngster, Summer took to the crisper performance curls at Lahaina Harbor and the world-class power and perfection at Honolua Bay.

Summer Macedo is currently ranked 25th on the World Surf League’s 2018 World Qualifying Series.

“My Dad always helped me and coached me, and I looked up to surfers like Carissa Moore, Stephanie Gilmore and Dusty Payne,” she said. “Lahaina is just a great place to grow up, and surfing and being around the ocean was a family thing for us.”

Summer is a Lahaina girl through and through. Born and raised here and attending Sacred Hearts School and Lahainaluna High School for a year before moving to home schooling with the Penn Foster Academy to earn a 4.0 grade point average, she has honed her wave riding skills with her Bulkley Surfboards quiver of boards ranging from 5’5″ to 6’6″.

Her goals are to reach the World Championship Tour and perhaps the 2024 Olympic Games, as surfing could become an official sport with the growing proliferation of wave machine consistency. She also plans to attend UH-Manoa someday to earn a degree in marketing.

Indeed, the business end of professional surfing is a vital reality, and young Macedo sees the writing – and the numbers – on the wall.

“Yes, I can make a decent living in surfing, and I can’t thank my sponsors like Bulkley Surfboards, Roxy, Prolite Accessories, Mokulele Airlines and Maui Jims Sunglasses enough for their support,” she said.

Most of all, she expressed her gratitude to her parents, her brother and to the Lahaina community as a whole for her fruitful life.

“I’ve had the opportunity to travel the world and have the beautiful experience of places like Japan, Australia, South Africa, Mexico and Spain. The coastline of Spain was absolutely gorgeous, but the water was really cold,” she said.

Now, this Lahaina girl will set her edge and torque her body and board into her favorite contest maneuver – a frontside power carve – for all the surfing world to see.