Eddie Would Go – The Eddie Aikau Invitational 2016

The BIG Day

Last Thursday morning, February 25th, 2016, the prestigious Eddie Aikau Invitational was was called on. This day marks the event’s 8th time running in the 31 years of it’s existence. With so many variables in nature, it takes just the right direction, mild winds, and a 30ft+ swell to even consider it a possible go. And this time Mother Nature got it just right. The best of the best were there, ready and pumped for this long anticipated day. North Shore favorite John John Florence came out with the win, though there were many notable performances by Kelly Slater, Mason Ho, Clyde Aikau, and Aaron Gold.

Here’s a few snaps of our day at the Bay.

The History
Eddie Aikau was the first official lifeguard at Waimea Bay, on Oahu’s North Shore, and at the same time developed a reputation as one of the best big wave riders in the world. Partnering with his younger brother/lifeguard Clyde, the pair never lost a life on their watch. Eddie surfed every major swell to come through the North Shore from 1967 to 1978. He attained a rank of 12th in the world on the early IPS pro surfing rankings. His best contest result was a win in the 1977 Duke Kahanamoku Invitational Surfing Championship. In 1978, Aikau was among a handful selected to join the cultural expedition of the Polynesian voyaging canoe Hokule’a, which set sail from Magic Island, Oahu, bound for Tahiti, on March 16, 1978. Hokule’a soon encountered treacherous seas outside the Hawaiian Islands and the canoe capsized. After a wild night adrift, Aikau set off on his paddleboard on March 17 in search of help for his stranded crew members. He was never seen again. The ensuing search for Aikau was the largest air-sea search in Hawaii history.

The Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau event was established in 1984 held at Sunset Beach in his honor. The event moved the next winter to Waimea Bay and has been a fixture there ever since.

History by Quiksilver, read on here.