Eddie Aikau Essay

Who Was Eddie Aikau and what did he embody? In Kahului, Hawaii you would hear the
phrase “ Eddie Would Go” and this was all based one decision made by one man. This man was
Eddie Aikau; Eddie was a famous surfer who became so, by hard work and devotion. Eddie was
the embodiment of selflessness and the purity of surfing. He was more than a person he was an
icon in Hawaii he is and was everything a humble person would want to be in their life. Eddie
Aikau was born to Solomon and Henrietta Aikau on May 5, 1946. He grew up in a chinese
graveyard which they rented a small house. (30 for 30 Films by Espn)He had to work in the
mornings on the yard care before he went to school. (30 for 30 Films by Espn) He was the third
of six children in the aikau

family and attended St. Anthony's school. Him and his brother Clyde
became very involved in the surfing communist while they were still just small boys.

Eddie
began to go surfing everyday either before or after school. Eventually his love for surfing grew
so much he began to go surfing during school. Eventually it led to him dropping out of school
completely so he could pursue the career of surfing.
At the age of fourteen years old Eddie Aikau became a professional surfer in his home
town of O’ahu where he was quite famous for his abilities on the larger waves. Eddie later on
started surfing at Waimea Bay where the waves could reach up to around thirty feet high on a
good swell. He became known for his high intelligence on how to navigate rough waters and for
his strength in his arms and shoulders. He got his first chance in a publicized surfing competition
in 1966 at the age of 20 years old. This competition was the Duke Kahanamoku international
Invitation in which he placed third place. Eddie became a finalist almost every year he was in the
competition but always falling short of first place.
During his surfing career he became the first ever lifeguard at Waimea Bay even without
a highschool diploma. After many issues in court he finally won the right to become the first

ever
lifeguard at Waimea Bay in 1968. During his time as a lifeguard Eddie attempted around five
hundred rescues at sea. And out of those five hundred attempts he succeeded at every single one.
In the year of 1973 his younger brother Clyde who had also pursued a career in surfing won the
Duke Kahanamoku invitational in his first year in the competition. Eddie was upset but very
proud of his brother for his great achievement.
Eddie was married to Linda Crosswhite in 1972 and they stayed together until 1978.

Eddie went into a depression stage in his life when his older brother returned home from
Vietnam. His brother shortly after returning was in a car accident that killed him on spot making
Eddie go out of the surfing world for a few years. When he returned in 1977 he won the Duke
Kahanamoku invitational competition. Although Eddie was at the age of 31 he still was full of
energy.
After an announcement that there would be an Hokulea sailing exhibition in an attempt to
prove that it was not an accident that the Polynesians landed in Hawaii. He signed up for the
chance to be a deckhand on board the ship. Anyone who signed up had to go through strenuous
training and if they had made it through all the training they would get rewarded with a spot.
After about 4 weeks of training Eddie proved himself to be worthy of the trip. The Hokule'a was
going to only travel and navigate by the stars. As being one of the main deckhands he was in
charge of the night watches and navigation. They were warned not to take off because of the
upcoming maelstrom that would be in there way. But instead of listening to reason they

decided
to take off about a week into the trip they sailed straight into the maelstrom sand had a blow
against the boat that left an opening. The boat later capsized leaving them all to lay on top.
Eddie deciding that it was his duty took off his life jacket because it interfered with his
swimming and grabbed his surfboard and attempted a 10 to 12 mile swim for an island to look
for help. After leaving Eddie was never seen again the people on the boat were rescued by the
coast guard a little bit after. Hawaii sent out the largest land and sea search in their history with
no success (30 for 30 Films by Espn). After his death Quicksilver held a memorial surfing
competition every year in his name.