Behind the Headlines – World Book Student
  • Search

  • Archived Stories

    • Ancient People
    • Animals
    • Arts & Entertainment
    • Business & Industry
    • Civil rights
    • Conservation
    • Crime
    • Current Events
    • Current Events Game
    • Disasters
    • Economics
    • Education
    • Energy
    • Environment
    • Food
    • Government & Politics
    • Health
    • History
    • Holidays/Celebrations
    • Law
    • Lesson Plans
    • Literature
    • Medicine
    • Military
    • Military Conflict
    • Natural Disasters
    • People
    • Plants
    • Prehistoric Animals & Plants
    • Race Relations
    • Recreation & Sports
    • Religion
    • Science
    • Space
    • Technology
    • Terrorism
    • Weather
    • Women
    • Working Conditions
  • Archives by Date

« If a Meteor Falls to Earth But No One Is There to Hear It, Does It Make a Sound?
Megastar Monday: The 88th Academy Awards »

Riding Hawaii’s Big Waves

February 26, 2016

Reef Macentosh competes in the Quicksilver Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational on December 8, 2009 at Waimea Bay, Hawaii. Credit:© Mana Photo/Shutterstock

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.

Tags: hawaii, surfing


  • Most Popular Tags

    african americans ancient greece archaeology art australia barack obama baseball bashar al-assad basketball black history month china climate change conservation earthquake european union football france global warming iraq isis japan language monday literature major league baseball mars mexico monster monday mythic monday mythology nasa new york city nobel prize presidential election russia space space exploration syria syrian civil war Terrorism ukraine united kingdom united states vladimir putin women's history month world war ii