Page 6 - MidWeek Leeward - January 18, 2023

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JANUARY 18, 2023
Aloha surfers and beachgoers,
Wow — 2023 rolled in like a tsunami. There was a 15-foot northwest swell on Jan. 2 and then the grand daddy northwest swell of the winter season on Jan. 11 with 15-to-25-foot waves. There were even 30-foot waves at select reefs like Pe‘ahi (oth- erwise known as Jaws) on Maui. Surf rarely fell below 6 feet this year. There’s yet another extra-large possibil- ity coming Jan. 22, if model predictions come true. Check snnhawaii.com to know for sure.
BY GARY KEWLEY
Only Time Will Tell If, When ‘The Eddie’ Will Go
The 2016 winner of the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational, John John Florence, takes on Waimea’s big waves. PHOTO COURTESY SERVAIS
I penned this column just as the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational was canceled last minute the morning of Jan. 10 because weather and wind forecasts turned sour. This was such a bummer as the green light was given the day prior, prompting a media blitz and travel mania just one day earlier.
crew on the capsized dou- bled-hulled canoe Hōkūle‘a about 12 miles south of Moloka‘i on March 17, 1978.
anthology We Are Here: 30 Inspiring Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Who Have Shaped the United States.
Eddie became the first lifeguard ever on the North Shore in 1968. From Sunset to Hale‘iwa, he saved more than 500 swimmers and not one person was ever lost under his watch at Waimea. Eddie was named Lifeguard
of the Year in ’71, and while doing all of this, he charged the world’s biggest, best waves with world class skill — including in ’77 when he
won the Duke Kahanamoku Invitational Surfing Champi- onship. Eddie manifested the “greatest love of all” when he gave his life to save the
To this day, his legend grows as does the esteemed event bearing his name, The Eddie. The best big-wave riders across the globe come ride life- and career-altering surf and to pay tribute to the man.
Mahalo for being here. GQ, droppin’ in 4 U!
Eddie paddled for help to- ward Lāna‘i on his surfboard and was never seen again. He was just 31.
Mahalo to Clyde and the rest of the Aikau ‘ohana for keeping Eddie’s legend alive and growing. And mahalo to all the sponsors past and present, to everyone who makes this amazing event happen and to all of you who come to experience the spirit and energy of The Eddie.
In 2022, Edward Ryan Makuahanai Aikau was fea- tured in Naomi Hirahara’s
gary@surfnewsnetwork.com
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