They came out of the foaming waves at Queen's Surf Beach in the bright sunshine under the blue sky yesterday, yakking their heads off about catching the waves and riding the surf.

They threw their boards down, slung the salt water out of their hair, hopped on one foot and then the other to get the water out of their ears, and shook themselves like dogs throwing off water after a swim.

More than 60 of them from all over the world.

They "talked" enthusiastically in sign language, their hands waving and fingers flying as if playing pianos in the air — all of them talking with their hands.

Jennifer McDonnell, vice president of the U.S. chapter of the World Deaf Surfing Championships, said, "It's our way of talking to each other."

It works.

The contestants at the meet yesterday, which ran all weekend, had a wonderful time.

The only disadvantages about being a deaf surfer, they said, are that you can't hear the big waves coming, and you can't sit out on the boards in the surf and talk story while you wait for a wave. Unless you're close enough to follow each other's hand signs.

Other than that, it's pretty cool.

"Besides," McDonnell said, "you don't really have to hear a wave to know one is coming; you get a feel for it."

Joshua Beal, one of the contestants, said everyone got what they came for in Hawai'i: to have a good time. Beal, who reads lips and speaks, also interpreted for Tia Abshier, a deaf social worker from Pittsburgh, who was visiting Hawai'i to watch the event.

"It's amazing," Abshier signed to Beal, who relayed her comments to a reporter. "I've never seen deaf people surf before. It shows that deaf people can do anything.

"I was hearing until I was 4 years old," she said. "I had a high fever and I became deaf."

Raymond Rapozo, of the Hawai'i Deaf Surf Riders Association and a co-chairman of the event, said it was the first time the group had a world championship in Hawai'i. Previous championships have been held in Mexico, Australia and Japan.

He watched the contestants talking story on the beach and said "signing and speaking, it's just communicating. The only difference is they can't hear. We're all just here to have a good time."