"The Eddie" is On

Named in memory of famed North Shore surfer Eddie Aikau. The local news reports: "The contest is only held when waves at Waimea Bay are in the range of 30 feet or more. When conditions are favorable, 28 of the world's foremost big wave surfers are invited to Oahu to participate." The waves can't be choppy or too close together. The contest has been held 8 times in the last 25 years due to waiting for the right waves.

I learned from the New York Times that the Eddie invitations are made only to recognized world class surfers. The waves wound up being 50+ feet high. The photos below (courtesy of the Times article) give you some idea of the height of these bad boys. (click on a photo and it will enlarge)


The story of Edie Aikau is, to me, more inspirational than any I have heard of late. Eddie was the first lifeguard hired by the City & County of Honolulu to work on the North Shore. His area of responsibility was large but his assigned beach was as a lifeguard at Waimea Bay (where the contest is held). As a lifeguard he responded to calls in waves often 30+ ft high and he never lost a person. In 1971 Eddie was named Lifeguard of the year. That is a pretty big deal considering this is an island with many, many beaches.

Wikipedia tells the rest of the story better than I can:
"Lost at sea

In 1978, the Polynesian Voyaging Society was seeking volunteers for a 30-day, 2,500-mile (4,000 km) journey to follow the ancient route of the Polynesian migration between the Hawaiian and Tahitian island chains. At 31 years of age, Aikau joined the voyage as a crew member. The Hokule'a left the Hawaiian islands on March 16, 1978. The double-hulled voyaging canoe developed a leak in one of the hulls and later capsized about twelve miles (19 km) south of the island of Molokai. In an attempt to get help, Aikau paddled toward Lanai on his surfboard.[6] Although the rest of the crew was later rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard, Aikau was never seen again. The ensuing search for Aikau was the largest air-sea search in Hawaii history.[7]
The last person lifeguard Eddie Aikau rescued at Waimea Bay was a young TV producer named John Orland, who had just wrapped up production on a TV pilot called the "Hawaii Experience," starring Bob Crane from Hogan's Heroes. He was rescued on February 19, 1978, less than a month before Eddie Aikau was lost at sea."