Destined to be one of the most hair-raising-if-not-absurdly-dangerous events to ever take place in Waikiki, the Castles Cup was to pit the best and bravest Hawaiian watermen together in canoes and let them duke it out in the biggest surf of the season. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had something else in mind and despite high hopes and a mountain of anticipation, the 8-foot-plus Hawaiian-style conditions necessary to hold the inaugural Castles Cup canoe surfing event presented by Primo Beer and Soljah Productions failed to materialize this year.

Utilizing an Eddie format, conditions had to reach the red for event organizers to give the green light. But unfortunately, after a less-than-stellar season in Town, event officials were unable to run the contest in the mammoth conditions necessary by the time the holding period expired in early September.

“We were waiting for the surf to hit the 8-foot Hawaiian mark to run, and unfortunately this was sort of a slow summer and that never really happened,” said the event’s frontman Alika Winter. “But I’m still really stoked on the event. We had nearly 30 boats slated for this year and we’re already planning for next year.”

As Winter alluded, a veritable who’s who of Hawaiian waterman had gathered teams in place for the event, including the likes of Russ Keaulana, Bonga Perkins, Senator Fred Hemmings, and a host of other legends.

With a steady buzz building surrounding the event, the anticipation in the islands is already bubbling for the 2011 Castles Cup. But as summer began to fade, you could almost feel the excitement drifting out of the air.

“We had a lot of really positive feedback from the community,” said Winter. “We’ve got some new ideas that we’re gonna try out for next year, but it’s gonna be something really special when the event finally runs.”

Here’s to the carnage ensuing in 2011.