Aikau, who entered the water with big cheers from the crowd, took waves topping 45 feet that would scare off surfers many years his junior.
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Monster waves are crashing onto the outer reef of Hawaii’s Waimea Bay, producing some waves that organizers estimate were about 60 feet tall. After days of massive waves in Hawaii, some reaching over 50 feet high and washing over roads and homes, organizers gave the nod Thursday morning to hold the rare big-wave surfing competition. Organizers require waves around 40 feet (12 meters) tall and a swell that lasts long enough to run multiple heats.
The Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau leaderboard earlier Thursday.
“This is global: it’s good for our tourism, good for our local business … it’s good for our competitors, it’s good for perpetuating the legacy of Eddie Aikau, it’s good for perpetuating the sport of surfing”, Kewley said.
Only 28 of the world’s best big-wave surfers were invited to compete, including American Greg Long, who won the competition in 2009. “That is just the spirit Ramon has tapped into”. Australia’s Ross Clarke-Jones took second, and Hawaii’s Shane Dorian finished third.
The Eddie had been scheduled to take place February 10, but was called off that morning when an anticipated swell did not arrive.
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This will be Aikau’s final Eddie before retiring. Aikau lost his life in 1978 while attempting to get help for crewmates aboard the Hokule’a, a traditional Polynesian voyaging canoe that capsized in rough seas en route to Tahiti.
