Eddie Aikau Essay

Eddie Aikau was known to be one of the greatest Hawaiian Big Wave Surfers…Let’s get to know him a little more.
Eddies full name is Edward Ryon Makuahanai Aikau. He was born on May 4th, 1946. Growing up, Eddie was very nurturing and family was EVERYTHING to him! Being the 3rd out of 7 siblings gave Eddie the opportunity to be kolohe but that never got in the way of his love and affection for his Ohana. Aikau was from Kahului, Maui but later moved to O’ahu in 1959. When Eddie moved to O’ahu he dropped out of school at age 16. Shortly after dropping out of school, Aikau started work at the Dole Pineapple Cannery in Honolulu, HI. As a child, Eddie loved being in the water! Eddie first learned to surf at the Kahului harbor shorebreak,

his surfing skills impressed professional surfers themselves and ever since that one nice wave… Eddie was in love.
Let’s take a look at Eddies’ surf career… Between the years 1959-1978, Eddie was shredding waves.

His first paycheck from Dole bought himself, his very first surfboard! As soon as Eddie bought his board, he was off! Eddie went up to the North Shore of O’ahu without hesitation. With his white surf shorts and his red board, Eddie shredded those waves! Out of Aikaus’ surf career, he had 3 favorite waves; Waimea bay, Sunset beach and Pipeline. To this day, the waves there are only meant for EXPERIENCED surfers ONLY. During Aikaus’ surfing career he won several awards and he became famous for his perseverance as well as his

bravery.
During Aikaus’ life he did many great things. In 1968, Aikau became the very first lifeguard hired by the City and County of Honolulu, HI to work on the North Shore. Eddie was completely dedicated to his job as a lifeguard as well as every other thing Eddie has ever done. Within the years 1968-1978, Eddie saved over 500 lives and not one life was lost. Aikau was and to this day still is the Guardian of Waimea Bay. The perks of being a surfer gave Eddie a huge advantage when it came to his job. Eddie would go after 20 ft. waves and some even higher to make rescues. Being the courageous person that Eddie Aikau was, he won several surfing awards, including first place in the 1977 Duke Kahanamoku Invitational Surfing Championship.
Nevertheless, Eddie loved where he was from, he loved the Hawaiian culture and everything that our aina has to offer.

Eventually Eddie Aikau became involved in perpetuating his Hawaiian Heritage. In 1976, the Polynesian Society, sailed out on the Hokule’a heading out on a 2,500 mile 30 day voyage. At just 31 years old, Aikau was chosen to be a crew member on the Hokule’a. But before announcing the crew members of the Hokule’a, Aikau sang a song he wrote, the name of the song was called “Hawaii’s Pride.” On march 16th, 1978 the Hokule’a set sail and departed the Hawaiian Islands at approximately 7pm. Several hours into the voyage, the Hokule’a battled choppy water. The crew was near the Kaiwi channel at the time of the incident. The voyaging canoe developed a leak in one of its hulls and eventually capsized 12 miles south of the island of Molokai. Courageous Eddie was willing to paddle out on his surfboard to find help. The crew officer agreed that Eddie should paddle on his surfboard to locate assistance. It was nearly impossible to gauge an accurate distance to land from the crews’ location at the time. Aikau tied his board leash to one of his ankles and hung a portable strobe light around his neck. He tied a life jacket around his waist before paddling away from the canoe. A few crew members saw Eddie toss the life jacket into the surf several hundred feet away from the canoe. Consequently knowing Aikau was putting his life at risk, he still took on the job of going

beyond and trying to find help for his crew members. Hours later a plane spotted the Hokule’a and the crew members stranded in the middle of the ocean. The U.S Coast Guard was later contacted and rescued the crew. It was by far the biggest air-sea search in Hawaiian history. Unfortunately, Eddie was never seen again… For all of your bravery and courageous acts; you’ve saved the lives of hundreds of people. Eddie Aikaus’ legacy will continue to live on and inspire people all over the world. The true symbolization of “Aloha.” Whenever life gets hard and you feel like you can’t make it... remember, “Eddie Would Go.” In loving memory of Eddie Ryon Makuahanai Aikau, The Guardian Of Waimea Bay.
In memory of one of the most respected names in surfing, there is a ceremony and invitational surfing meet every year. The open-ocean swells are required to reach a minimum height of 20 feet before the competition can take place. Inconvenience, because the waves are required to be so big; the memorial has only happened 9 times in history. Most recently, on February 25th, 2016. The competition starts on December 1st and ends on the last day of February. Winter storms in the North Pacific provide energy for tremendous waves on the North Shore of O’ahu. Each day oceanographers, meteorologist and big wave surfing experts monitor surf conditions, ocean swells and weather forecasts. After monitoring experts can finally make a decision on whether or not the event will take place that year. Every year, 28 people are chosen by votes from peers and invited to be apart of the event. After being invited all 28 chosen ones head to Waimea Bay to participate in the opening ceremony “Blessing of Eddie Aikau” taking place on the first Thursday of December. Afterwards, competitors await on official call during the competition window then later compete to win at the Invitational Surfing Memorial. In dedication to our beloved Eddie Aikau.