📍Princeville, HI 96722, USA
1990 – 2008“Bethany Meilani Hamilton was born in Lihue, Kauai, in February 1990, and grew up in Princeville, on the island's north shore, above Hanalei Bay, in a family of surfers: her parents, Tom and Cheri, and her two older brothers, Noah and Timmy, all surfed. Her parents had come to Hawaii to surf, and the family's life revolved around the ocean and their Christian faith. Bethany was surfing by the time she was about five, and she was a natural, entering her first contest at eight and winning junior events across Hawaii. From sixth grade she was homeschooled, so she could spend more time in the water. She surfed with her best friend, Alana Blanchard, every day on the north shore's reefs and beaches. On 31 October 2003, at thirteen, while surfing with Alana and Alana's father and brother at Tunnels, off Makua Beach near Haena, she was attacked by a tiger shark about fourteen feet long, which took her left arm. Alana's father made a tourniquet from a surf leash, which saved her life. Just a month later, she was back on her surfboard, learning to paddle and ride with one arm, and within a year she was competing again. In 2005 she won the national championship in her age group, and she went on to compete on the world tour. Her story, told in the book and film Soul Surfer, inspired millions, and she supports amputees and young people through her Friends of Bethany foundation. She still lives on Kauai with her family, surfing the north shore waves she loves.”
🗺️ Approximate location today
📍 Street view today