Surfing's Mythical 'Eddie' Returns After 6-Year Absence With 60-Foot ...
Forbes-Feb 26, 2016
The largest payout in Big Wave surfing ($75,000) was awarded Thursday in Hawaii, but that wasn't the real story. No, that would be that the ...
Surfing's Mythical 'Eddie' Returns After 6-Year Absence With 60-Foot Waves In Hawaii
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The
largest payout in Big Wave surfing ($75,000) was awarded Thursday in
Hawaii, but that wasn’t the real story. No, that would be that the
“Eddie,” the big-wave competition that’s taken on an almost mythical
quality, was held for just the ninth time in 31 years.
This year, with massive El Nino-fueled waves that reached 60 feet on
Oahu’s North Shore, the event might have been the biggest in its
history, in a number of ways.
A crowd that organizers estimated at 25,000 lined the entire stretch of Waimea Beach to watch, cheer and gasp at the epic rides and wipeouts from the elite 28-man field (Kelly Slater among them). Some fans, eager to see the “Eddie” for the first time in six years, climbed trees for a better view while others pitched tents to claim a prime spot atop a bluff almost 24 hours in advance of the competition.
So what exactly is the “Eddie” and how has its legend grown?
The event is named in memory of Eddie Aikau, a Waimea Bay lifeguard and Big Wave surfing pioneer who is credited with at least 500 rescues. According to legend, not one life was lost while he served as a lifeguard at Waimea Bay. Aikau died at the age of 31 in 1978, when he was part of a team attempting to retrace the route of their Polynesian ancestors from Hawaii to Tahiti. The traditional canoe they were aboard capsized 12 miles off Molokai and Aikau wasn’t seen again after he paddled off on a surfboard to seek help.
Aikau was a hero on the North Shore, braving waves others wouldn’t dare. It led people to say that Eddie would go, when no one else would. The “Eddie” was first held in 1984 and when organizers were discussing whether the conditions were too dangerous, another professional surfer simply said, “Eddie would go.”
A surfer tackles the massive swells at
Waimea Bay on the North Shore of Oahu as the fabled “Eddie” is held for
just the ninth time in 31 years. Photo credit: Quiksilver
A crowd that organizers estimated at 25,000 lined the entire stretch of Waimea Beach to watch, cheer and gasp at the epic rides and wipeouts from the elite 28-man field (Kelly Slater among them). Some fans, eager to see the “Eddie” for the first time in six years, climbed trees for a better view while others pitched tents to claim a prime spot atop a bluff almost 24 hours in advance of the competition.
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The event is named in memory of Eddie Aikau, a Waimea Bay lifeguard and Big Wave surfing pioneer who is credited with at least 500 rescues. According to legend, not one life was lost while he served as a lifeguard at Waimea Bay. Aikau died at the age of 31 in 1978, when he was part of a team attempting to retrace the route of their Polynesian ancestors from Hawaii to Tahiti. The traditional canoe they were aboard capsized 12 miles off Molokai and Aikau wasn’t seen again after he paddled off on a surfboard to seek help.
Aikau was a hero on the North Shore, braving waves others wouldn’t dare. It led people to say that Eddie would go, when no one else would. The “Eddie” was first held in 1984 and when organizers were discussing whether the conditions were too dangerous, another professional surfer simply said, “Eddie would go.”
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The phrase stuck. It became popular on T-shirts and bumper stickers in the 1980′s and today is a trending hashtag on Twitter TWTR +1.99%.
The “Eddie” is only held when waves swell to 40 feet, adding to an elusive appeal that draws the best surfers from around the world. Eddie’s younger brother, Clyde, won the event at Waimea Bay in 1987 and this year, at the age of 66, participated for the last time. Clyde Aikau was the only surfer to enter all eight of the previous competitions.
The “Eddie” is only held when waves swell to 40 feet, adding to an elusive appeal that draws the best surfers from around the world. Eddie’s younger brother, Clyde, won the event at Waimea Bay in 1987 and this year, at the age of 66, participated for the last time. Clyde Aikau was the only surfer to enter all eight of the previous competitions.
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CBS News-Feb 25, 2016
Watch Live
Polls closing soon in South Carolina Democratic primary60-foot swells mean rare surfing meet is a go in Hawaii
Before the sun came up over the horseshoe-shaped Waimea Bay, organizers huddled together to make the final call on the invitation-only big-wave competition that hasn't been held in six years.
The event in memory of local lifeguard and big-wave surfer Eddie Aikau went forward as towering waves met the founder's strict minimum requirements.
The rules say waves must be 40 feet high, and the swell should have enough sustained power to last all day. The winds have to be right, the time of the tide is taken into account, and once everything falls into place the word is given.
Crowds already started gathering at the bay on Wednesday night and continued flooding in by Thursday morning, CBS affiliate KGMB reported.
Eddie Aikua's brother, Clyde, announced to a large crowd early Thursday morning that his brother's namesake surfing contest was on.
"I've been riding Waimea Bay for over 40 years, and today has to be one of the best days I've ever seen," Aikau said. "It is a go!" he added as the crowd came alive with whistles, cheers and applause.
Surf's Up in Hawaii
Clyde Aikau is the only competitor to surf in all eight previous competitions and is the oldest at 66 to compete in this year's event. Thursday will be his last time surfing in the contest, he said.
Aikau said the event isn't about fame or money, it's about honoring his brother's legacy of helping others and his passion for the ocean. "We are humbled and privileged," he said.
One competitor, Ramon Navarro, the son of a fisherman from south Chile, embodies Eddie's spirit, said event spokeswoman and longtime Aikau family friend Jodi Wilmott.
Navarro is a "very unassuming, a very humble character," Wilmott said. "He has a higher vision."
In 2009, when Navarro was invited to his first Eddie competition, he awed the crowd when he rode the biggest wave of the day, scoring a perfect 100 on the monster breaker that towered over him.
"Eddie was a higher vision guy, too," Wilmott said. "He had loftier goals for humanity, and he understood the power of relationships. That is just the spirit Ramon has tapped into."
Navarro came to the North Shore and worked his way into the surfing community by building mud brick ovens and selling empanadas to beachgoers, Wilmott said.
Navarro surfed in the first heat of the morning on Thursday, and despite only catching one wave out of a possible four, earning him a mere 5 points out of 100, Navarro said he was just happy to be involved in the event.
"This is my dream," Navarro said after drying off after his hour-long session.
The competition began in 1984, six years after Eddie Aikau died.
As a lifeguard, Eddie Aikau is said to have never had a fatality while on duty. When the surf was too big for most in Waimea Bay and the crowds cleared out, Aikau would grab his surfboard and take on the biggest waves around.
Ultimately, however, Aikau gave his life to the ocean in a final attempt to save others. The 31-year-old Aikau was part of a team that was attempting to trace the route of their Polynesian ancestors from Hawaii to Tahiti aboard the traditional Hokulea canoe in 1978.
The vessel encountered rough seas and capsized. Aikau took his surfboard and paddled away for help. He was never seen again, though the rest of the crew was eventually rescued.
In Round 2, Australia's Ross Clarke-Jones was leading with a combined score of 278, KGMB reported.