Riding Hawaii’s Big Waves
February 26, 2016
A surfer competes in the Quicksilver Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational on Dec. 8, 2009 at Waimea Bay, Hawaii. Credit:© Mana Photo/Shutterstock
Yesterday, February 25, in Hawaii, more than 30,000 fans lined Waimea Bay on Oahu’s North Shore to watch surfers brave 60-foot (18-meter) waves in the rare Quicksilver Eddie Aikau big wave surf competition. The surfing contest, last held in 2009, occurs only when wave sizes consistently exceed 30 feet (9 meters). It was the ninth running of the “Eddie,” a competition created in 1984 and named for Hawaiian lifeguard and surfer Eddie Aikau, who was lost at sea in 1978.
Hawaiian surfer John John Florence, just 23 years old, took top honors at the Eddie, one of surfing’s most prestigious and dangerous contests. World-class surfers Ross Clarke-Jones, Shane Dorian, Jamie Mitchell, and Kelly Slater rounded out the top 5 among the Eddie’s 28 competitors. The monster waves toppled surfer after surfer, and smashed several surfboards to pieces. On the beaches, young fans scrambled to collect pieces of the broken boards as souvenirs. Eddie Aikau’s 66-year-old brother Clyde surfed the contest for his record ninth and final time.
In March 1978, 31-year-old Eddie Aikau was part of a team that was attempting to trace the route of their Polynesian ancestors from Hawaii to Tahiti. Off the island of Molokai, the team’s traditional canoe capsized. Eddie paddled away on his surfboard to get help, but was never seen again. The rest of the team was rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard.
