Page 4 - MidWeek West - Feb 1, 2023

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FEBRUARY 1, 2023
Aloha surfers and beachgoers,
Not many days in a life can match what we experienced at The Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational at Waimea Bay on Jan. 22. The waves were straight up jaw-dropping big. What a way to kick off the new year!
contest on Jan. 12 due to sub- par swells and sketchy winds, and two was to claim “Eddie Will Go” for his brother on Jan. 22.
He was in uniform at the ceremony as he was actual- ly working in between heats — a first for this contest. The crazy cool coincidence is that Eddie Aikau was also a lifeguard at Waimea. Actual- ly, he was the first lifeguard ever on the North Shore back in 1968. We’re pretty sure he snuck out more than a few times when the bay was bombing.
part of The Eddie, just to be on the alternate list.
What a miraculous bless- ing to have Eddie Aikau’s 10th contest to run in nearly 40 years on one of the best days—ifnotthebestday— ever witnessed at this iconic location. I don’t think any of the more than 50,000 specta- tors would care to disagree. The giant surf met Surf News Network’s forecasted 20-to- 30-foot Hawai‘i scale (35-to- 55-foot faces) surf with many close outs across the Waimea. That’s rare.
The Waimea Bay amphi- theater is perfect, and every- one could feel — and feed off of — the crazy energy out in the water and on the beach. These waves would drown 99% of the people there if they were out in that line up. The surfers risked their lives and tested their limits all day long.
Luke was on the ride of a lifetime, blessed by the amazing mana of Waimea Valley. He scored 89 points out of a possible 90 (up to 30 points per ride). Not bad for a 27-year-old talent that had to get permission from his su- pervisor to compete. Ocean safety officials reported more than 60 rescues during the day. Nuts.
Andrea Moller was the first of the six women to catch a wave and thus ride into the history books at this illustri- ous event. The next were Ke- ala Kennelly, Justine Dupont, Emily Erickson, Makani Adric and Paige Alms. Each brave woman can claim it forever.
As you may know, not all these forecast models pan out so well. Even so, Clyde Aikau, Eddie’s younger brother, made two perfect calls: One was to cancel the
final results a secret until the awards ceremony.
close in second place. Winning the 10th Eddie
“I told myself, ‘I’m in it because I can win it,’” re- veals the unexpected hero. “It was super scary. The waves were huge, and it was a dream come true just to be
Catch the full results and other juicy details online at surfnewsnetwork.com.
BY GARY KEWLEY
North Shore Lifeguard Lives Up To Eddie’s Legacy
The waves were huge, fast-moving mountains of heavy water. It was scary, yet beautiful and dangerous, and addicting.
“I can’t believe it — it’s crazy. I’ve got to get back to the tower to make sure every- one’s OK until the end of the day.”
It took about eight hours to power through the 40 invi- tees who surfed in two heats with eight surfers per heat. This included six women for the first time! Only the top three waves counted at theendoftheday.Itwasa leader board-style (non-elim- ination) format, but they kept
Michael Ho, age 65, took on Waimea Bay’s biggest waves at The Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational on Jan. 22. PHOTO COURTESY MITCH MCEWEN/HAWAIIAN ISLAND CREATIONS
Master waterman Mark Healey says it was the “best big day of Waimea I’ve ever seen in my life,” while big- wave world champ Billy Kemper says, “Best day in surfing history.”
No one has ever won The Eddie twice and this year was no exception. However, John John Florence (the de- fending 2016 champ) came
Aikau Big Wave Invitation- al was Hawai‘i native and City & County of Honolulu lifeguard (at Waimea), Luke Shepardson!
GQ, droppin in 4 U!
gary@surfnewsnetwork.com
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