Terms

Last updated October 2, 2026

These terms apply to your use of hellasurfhawaii.com and to surf lessons, stand-up paddle sessions and related beach and ocean instruction offered by Hella Surf in Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii ("Hella Surf", "we", "us"). "You" means each person who books or takes part in a lesson and, for anyone under 18, that person's parent or legal guardian.

BookingAge and swimmingCancellations and refundsInherent risksYour responsibilitiesRelease and waiverLimits of liabilityHawaii law

1. Booking is confirmed directly, and a signed waiver is required

The website describes lessons, prices and what is included. Prices, times, availability and inclusions can change and are confirmed only when Hella Surf replies to you directly. Opening a text, email or Instagram message from this website does not book or guarantee a lesson.

We tell you before you book: every participant must sign the Hella Surf Participant Waiver (assumption of risk, release, covenant not to sue and indemnity) before the lesson starts. You can read it now and sign it online on your phone (you and Hella each get an emailed copy), or print it and sign it ahead of time or at check-in. A parent or legal guardian must sign for each participant under 18 and may be asked to stay on the beach for younger children. If a participant or guardian will not sign, the participant cannot take part. If the signed waiver and these terms differ, the signed waiver controls for that lesson.

Who can take a lesson: age and swimming

• Minimum age 5. Ages 5 to 11 take private (one-on-one) lessons only. Ages 12 and up can also join semi-private and small-group lessons.
• Parents and guardians. A parent or legal guardian signs the waiver for anyone under 18. For children under 13, a parent or guardian stays on the beach, in view, for the whole lesson. For ages 13 to 17, an adult checks them in and stays reachable by phone.
• Swimming. Every surfer must be able to swim at least 25 yards (about 23 meters) without help or a flotation device and be comfortable in ocean water over their head and with their face in the water. A surf lesson is not a swimming lesson. Not sure? Message Hella before you book.
• Health. Surf lessons are not recommended during pregnancy, with a current back, neck or shoulder injury, or soon after surgery. Check with your doctor and tell Hella before you book.
• The same rules apply to stand-up paddle sessions.

Cancellations, rescheduling and refunds

• 24 hours or more before your lesson: cancel or reschedule for free. Move to any open time, or get a full refund of anything you paid.
• Less than 24 hours before: no refund. If Hella has an open time in the next 30 days, she will move your lesson once at no charge.
• No-shows and late arrival: if nobody arrives within 20 minutes of the start time and you have not messaged Hella, the lesson is a no-show and is not refunded or rescheduled. If you are running late, message Hella; a late start still ends at the scheduled time.
• Fewer people: a participant dropped less than 24 hours before the lesson is charged as booked.
• If Hella cancels for unsafe surf, lightning, high-surf or brown-water advisories, other safety reasons, illness or an emergency, you choose a free reschedule or a full refund. Hella makes the safety call and tells you as early as she can, usually the evening before or the morning of the lesson. Light rain and clouds are not unsafe; lessons go ahead.
• If a lesson is cut short for safety after it starts, Hella will make up the missed time or refund that part of the lesson.
• On the day, a participant who does not meet the age or swimming requirements, has not signed the waiver, or appears to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs cannot take part; this is treated as a cancellation with less than 24 hours' notice.
• Refunds go back the way you paid, within 7 days. Each lesson in a lesson pack follows the same rules.

Nothing in this policy takes away a right you have under Hawaii law that cannot be waived.

2. Surfing and ocean activities carry inherent risks

Hawaii Revised Statutes section 663-1.54 requires a recreational activity provider to fully disclose the inherent risks of the activity. These are dangers that come with surfing, stand-up paddling and the ocean itself, that exist even when the provider uses reasonable care, and that are generally beyond the provider's control. They include:

• Waves and surf. Falling, wiping out, being pushed or held underwater by waves, swallowing or inhaling water, and conditions that change quickly and without warning, including larger sets and shifting surf.
• Currents. Rip currents and other currents that can pull you away from shore or from your instructor and tire you quickly.
• Reef, rocks and the ocean floor. Waikiki surf breaks sit over shallow coral reef, rocks and uneven bottom. Contact can cause cuts, scrapes, punctures, bruises, broken bones and head, neck or spine injuries. Coral cuts can become infected.
• Surfboards, fins and leashes. Being hit by your own board, its fins or a recoiling leash, or by someone else's board. A leash can tangle or break, and a board can be lost.
• Other ocean users. Waikiki is crowded. Collisions can happen with other surfers, paddlers, canoes, swimmers, boats and their equipment, and other people may not follow surf etiquette.
• Marine life. Stings and bites from box jellyfish (common on south shores about 8 to 10 days after a full moon), Portuguese man-of-war and other jellyfish, sea urchins, eels and other animals, including allergic reactions. Sea turtles and monk seals are protected and must not be touched or approached. Sharks are rare but present in Hawaii waters.
• Water quality. Bacteria and other contaminants, especially after heavy rain or brown-water advisories, which can cause skin, ear, eye, wound and stomach infections and illnesses such as leptospirosis.
• Weather and sun. Sunburn, heat exhaustion, dehydration, wind, rain squalls, lightning and chill from long periods in the water.
• Physical exertion. Paddling, popping up and falling strain the body. Risks include muscle strains, sprains, dislocations, back and neck injuries, exhaustion, and heart, breathing or other medical events, especially with an existing condition.
• Drowning and near-drowning. Ocean activities can lead to drowning, near-drowning, permanent disability or death.
• Limits of instruction and rescue. An instructor cannot control the ocean, cannot prevent every fall, and cannot watch every student every second, especially in shared lessons. Help in the water, lifeguard response and emergency medical care may not be immediately available.
• Getting to and from the water. Walking with a board between the meeting point and the beach, hot or uneven sand and pavement, sidewalks and street crossings.
• Your own condition and choices. Your swimming ability, fitness, health, fatigue, medications, alcohol or drugs, and whether you follow instructions.

This list is not complete. Other risks exist, and some cannot be foreseen. Read the full list in the Participant Waiver.

Ocean safety in Waikiki

Before and on the day of your lesson, you can check the National Weather Service Hawaii surf forecast, Hawaii Beach Safety conditions, the Honolulu Ocean Safety Department and the Hawaii Department of Health beach water-quality advisories. Follow posted warning signs and lifeguard instructions. Your instructor's day-of call on conditions decides whether and where a lesson goes ahead.

3. Your responsibilities

Swimming ability and health

A surf lesson is not a swimming lesson. Before the lesson, you must tell your instructor honestly whether each participant can swim and stay afloat in ocean water over their head without a flotation device, and about any medical condition, injury, pregnancy, allergy or medication that could affect safe participation (for example heart or lung conditions, asthma, seizures, diabetes, recent surgery, or back, neck or shoulder problems). Ask your doctor if you are unsure whether surfing is safe for you. We rely on what you tell us. Do not take part under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Follow instructions

Pay attention to the on-sand safety briefing and follow your instructor's directions in and out of the water, including where to surf, when to come in, how to fall, how to protect your head, how to use your leash and how to stay clear of other people. Stay within the area your instructor shows you. Do not let go of your board near other people. Tell your instructor straight away if you feel tired, unwell, cold, hurt or frightened. You can stop at any time.

Our safety decisions

For safety, your instructor may refuse, delay, move, shorten or end a lesson or a participant's part in it, including because of ocean or weather conditions, swimming ability, health, behavior, or failure to follow instructions or sign the waiver. Rescheduling and refunds follow the cancellation policy above.

Equipment and belongings

Boards are chosen to suit your height and weight. Check your board and leash and tell your instructor about any problem. Boards rented from a third-party shop are also subject to that shop's own terms. Keep valuables to a minimum; we do not hold or guard personal belongings.

Photos (optional)

Photos or video taken during a lesson are used publicly only if you agree on the waiver. Saying no does not affect your lesson.

4. Assumption of risk, release and waiver

Please read this section carefully. It affects your legal rights.

Assumption of risk. By booking or taking part in a lesson, you confirm that you understand the inherent risks described above and in the Participant Waiver, and you voluntarily choose to accept them and to participate.

Release. To the fullest extent permitted by Hawaii law, including HRS §663-1.54, each participant, and the parent or legal guardian of a participant under 18, releases and waives all claims against Hella Surf, its owner and instructor Hella B., and its instructors, employees, contractors, agents and assistants (the "Released Parties") for injury, illness, death, and loss of or damage to property resulting from the inherent risks of surfing, stand-up paddling and ocean activities. To the extent applicable law permits, the release also covers any other claim arising out of participation. It does not apply to any claim that Hawaii law does not allow to be released. Hawaii law currently does not allow a recreational activity provider to be released from liability for its own negligence, gross negligence or intentional misconduct.

The signed waiver. The release in this section is confirmed and signed in the Participant Waiver, which also contains a covenant not to sue and a parent or guardian indemnity for minors. A website page alone is not a signed release, which is why every participant signs before the lesson.

Indemnity. To the extent permitted by law, you agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the Released Parties against claims, losses and reasonable costs, including attorneys' fees, brought by other people that arise from your own conduct during a lesson, from your failure to follow instructions or safety rules, or from any untrue statement you make about your swimming ability or health. A parent or guardian gives the same promise for claims arising from a minor participant's conduct, to the extent the law allows.

Emergency care. You authorize the Released Parties to give or arrange first aid and to call emergency services for you if they believe it is needed, and you are responsible for the cost of any medical care or transport.

5. Limits of liability

Lessons. To the extent permitted by law, the Released Parties are not liable for indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages, such as missed travel plans or lost income, and their total liability for any claim relating to a lesson that is not a claim for bodily injury or death (for example a booking, refund or lost-property dispute) will not exceed the amount you paid for that lesson.

Website. The website is provided "as is" and "as available", without warranties of any kind, to the maximum extent permitted by law. Ocean conditions, prices and information can change; check conditions yourself on the day. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Hella Surf and the people and companies that build, host or maintain this website are not liable for any indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising from your use of the website, and their total liability relating to the website will not exceed US $100.

Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited under Hawaii law, or any right you have under Hawaii law that cannot be waived.

6. Website content

Photos, text and design on this website belong to Hella Surf or its licensors. Testimonials are shared with permission and describe individual experiences. Links to Instagram, maps, weather, ocean-safety or other sites are provided for convenience; we do not control those sites.

7. Hawaii law, venue, severability

These terms and the Participant Waiver are governed by the laws of the State of Hawaii, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Any dispute will be brought individually, not as a class or representative action, in the state or federal courts located in Honolulu, Hawaii, or in small claims court, and you consent to those courts' jurisdiction.

If any part of these terms or the Participant Waiver is found invalid or unenforceable, that part will be limited or removed only as much as necessary, and the rest stays in full force. A failure to enforce any part is not a waiver of it. The release, indemnity, limits of liability and this section continue after the lesson ends.

8. Changes and contact

We may update these terms by posting a new version on this page. The version that applies to a lesson is the one in effect when the waiver for that lesson is signed. Questions: hellasurfhawaii@gmail.com. See also the Participant Waiver and our Privacy page.