As people like to say… “Eddie Went”
After a six-year wait and one false alarm… The “In Memory of Eddie Aikau” big wave surf competition was a “Go”.
Hawai‘i’s John John Florence came in first picking up the $75,000 prize in front of an audience estimated to be around 15,000 people strong. The invitation-only contest can only run if the strict size, weather and direction requirements are met, and the Eddie has now only run nine times since its inception in 1984.
HPR’s Nick Yee was in the crowd to capture a few stories.
Clyde Aikau, the brother of Eddie Aikau began the day by addressing the crowd.
Maui based Waterman Dave Kalama reflected on the experience.
Zak Noyle is the official (in water) photographer for the competition.
Visitors began camping around the bay on Wednesday to secure a good vantage point as well as avoid the traffic which backed up north shore roads for hours.
Kyle Womack is from Kapolei who camped overnight with friends.
Logan Garrett is from Wai‘anae and scored the souvenir of the day…. A broken competitor’s board that washed in.
The most tragic story came from Justin Troop jumped a plane from Miami, Florida to attend the days event, and brought his drone to get aerial footage.
Keone Downing is one of the past winners of the Eddie and helped make the final decision to run the competition.
Randy Rerick is the former director of the Triple Crown and acting Beachmaster for the Eddie.
The contest honors the life of North Shore lifeguard Eddie Aikau who was lost at sea after an accident during a storm encountered by the H?k?le‘a.
