‘Eddie’ is a no-go
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARADVERTISER.COM
DJ Rodgers, left, and George Waddingham, jet ski rescue operators, were making preparations for the Quiksilver inMemory of Eddie Aikau on Tuesday. The event was called off this morning.
CRAIG GIMA / CGIMA@STARADVERTISER.COM
Big-wave surfer Kai Lenny spoke to reporters after the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau was called off this morning.
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARADVERTISER.COM
The ‘Eddie’ was called off this morning, but traffic still remained on Kamehameha Highway near Waimea Bay.
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARADVERTISER.COM
These are some of the people who where on Waimea Bay Beach on the North Shore early in the morning, hoping it would go on. The smaller waves still did provide some spectacular views for the people who stayed as the weather was great.
Despite the hype, anticipation and extensive preparations, the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau big-wave competition was called off this morning when the anticipated 40- to 50-foot swell didn’t show up on time.
“We had high hopes that we’d be running today, but unfortunately this storm kind of blew itself up over the north of us and is heading more toward California,” said Glen Moncata, the contest director. “So many forecasters said this is your day. Mother Nature isn’t always kind to everybody.”
Computer models showed the swell arriving this morning in time for an 8 a.m. start to the big-wave contest that is only held when surf is consistently about 40 feet at Waimea Bay (20 feet by Hawaiian measurements).
But when the waves hit buoys north of the islands, the timing of the swell changed and as the sun rose over much smaller conditions, it became clear that the waves wouldn’t meet contest standards until much later in the day — too late to hold the event.
Thousands of people still came to the North Shore before dawn in hopes of witnessing the competition between the best big-wave surfers in the world at the place where big-wave surfing was born.
Kekoa Ho, who drove up to the North Shore with his family at 4:30 a.m. and walked a half-mile to Waimea Bay, walked back to his car when he heard the news.
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“I want to beat the traffic back,” he said.
Ho, pushing a 4-month-old baby in a stroller, said he understood why the contest isn’t a go.
“It’s Mother Nature, cannot help,” he said.
Daughter Kenzie said she was “disappointed,” that the contest wouldn’t be held.
“It would have been nice,” she said.
But she said she was also looking forward to going home and getting some sleep.
Big-wave surfer Kai Lenny, an Eddie alternate, said he was still happy to be at the contest, get a surf session in and soak up the atmosphere of the event.
“I’m bummed the event is not running, but Mother Nature makes the choice here” Lenny said.
Lenny planned to surf more waves at Waimea today and then fly back to Maui and his home break of Jaws.
Jodi Wilmott, a World Surf League spokeswoman, said contest organizers considered splitting the event and holding half of it this afternoon and finishing on Thursday morning.
But the surf wasn’t expected to peak at the right heights until about 2 p.m., which didn’t leave enough time since the contest permit expired at 4:30 p.m. and Thursday’s surf wasn’t expected to remain at peak levels with enough time to finish the contest.
The National Weather Service said the buoy readings showed the swell arriving about 6 to 8 hours behind wave model predictions.
The surf will still likely reach 40 to 50 feet, but it will happen later in the day into tonight.
Running the Eddie requires about 6 to 8 hours of consistent 40-foot surf during the day.
The event’s namesake, Eddie Aikau, was the first lifeguard on Oahu’s North Shore. Aikau lost his life in 1978 while attempting to get help for crewmates aboard the Hokule’a, a traditional Polynesian voyaging canoe that capsized in rough seas en route to Tahiti.
The contest has only run eight times in its 31-year history because conditions haven’t been exactly right.
There’s still a chance it could run this month.
The holding period for the Eddie continues until Feb. 29.
Meanwhile, a high surf warning is posted from noon until 6 p.m. Thursday for north and west shores of Kauai County, Oahu and Molokai, north shores of Maui and west shores of Hawaii island.
A high surf advisory is in effect for the north shores of the Big Island.
Surf along north shores is expected to build to 25 to 35 feet this morning to 40 to 50 feet late today through tonight.
West shores can expect 15- to 25-foot surf this morning, building to 25 to 35 feet later today.
Forecasters said the surf is dangerous and could cause property damage.
“Localized coastal flooding is possible in the warning area due to significant wave set up and run up along the beaches exposed to this swell, especially during each high tide from later today into Thursday,” the weather service said.
Star-Advertiser reporter Nick Abramo contributed to this report.
39 responses to “‘Eddie’ is a no-go”
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Does that mean that all the people calling in sick will now recover and go to work??
Go surf! Mental sickness day. Surfing cures all. Have a good one. A hui ho…
Still can go surfing if I no stay brain damage?
This is a joke already! 8 times in 30 years. ‘Nuff already. Just have a meet with Eddie’s name EVERY year.
Or at least an expression session.
Pros should be able to ride any kind of wave.
Hmm..These guys are as bad as Lie Hagi, get everyone wound up only to find out it’s not coming afterall.
seeing the work clyde put into this coupled with qsilver’s bankruptcy sale to a digital investor and the canoe sailing round the world and the PR and insider political stuff going on with the Inouye Kam Schools OHA big shots, makes me wonder if da kine was set up. It’s time as a wag observes below for a regular eddie yearly, a little eddie and a big eddie funded by someone else other than qsilver. I feel sorry for clyde and the family.
Myth, can you provide a translation in English of your post. mahalo
It’s his idea of pidgin. Typical coast ha*le trying to act “local”.
BS Mr bradshaw – I know what I am speaking of but it’s you who is the phony. I know who you are. My post is nowhere near pidgin and you know it. come up with some other way to be hateful, you creep.
Mr Plaba – Clyde is Eddie’s bro and is a big wave surfer champ too. Clyde runs the family survivors of the late great eddie. Qsilver last I heard went belly up and was bought by a guy who plans to sell the merchandise, including stuff branded with the Eddie brand, on line, joining all the other on line retailers. J Crew went under too, for example. The family gets a percentage of anything branded eddie. the event is sponsored by qsilver, which means they pay the bills but clyde decides who is invited. Glen knows the ropes. clyde knew the whole thing was falling apart due to the above and was hustling to find a new sponsor so the event would continue and keep the over ride flowing to the family. clyde was invited to ride on a leg of the canoe to get him on the side of Inouye and Kam Schools, who along with Pierre and his wife Pam pay the bills for the canoe. Maybe there is a plan to fund the big eddies going forward by Pierre and Pam, if you don’t know who there are, they own civil beat the digital newspaper, internet billionaires. Forget that nasty cynical creep bradshaw.
Make that money Clyde!
Brah, you gotta lay off dat pipe!
In Hawaii, on time is Hawaiian time.
I like the mystique surrounding this event. Keep the standards high, don’t sell out just to have something every year. It’s rarely held, and people still know about it and flock to it. Perfect marketing.
That’s THE PROBLEM–“MARKETING”! That’s not “SOUL-SURFING”…
Marketing didn’t stop the event. Mother Nature did. They can soul surf the day after.
CALDWELL’s presence and THE MEDIA JINXED-IT! “EDDIE” SAID “NO”!
Its tough to predict mother nature. Becoming a bit of a joke, to many false starts.
Media, media, media, marketing, marketing, marketing, still rolling in the dough and “g-Lie Hagi” still number one news, can’t go wrong, all the businesses still making money, money, isn’t that what it’s all about…?!?!?
“EDDIE” took one-look at CALDWELL and his minions on the beach and took the next Canoe to “MAVERICKS”…
Got that right!!!!!
I can still make Mavericks in California this Friday……wish me luck
no worries…hop on the next flight to SF and head on down to Mavericks…the weather experts nailed this one good…Friday, FEB 12….com’on down…da world is coming….
http://titansofmavericks.com/
love half moon bay – used to live there
It figures. You should go back.
Don’t leave without a souvenir t-shirt….that’s the real essence of “The Eddie.” Not to be confused with a humble man named Eddie Aikau.
Sad but true.
don’t worry, eddie will be vindicated in the end as will all actual native Hawaiians of the blood.
Eddie no sho up for work either.
If “Eddie” was alive, “Eddie would not Go” to Waimea with a crowd like this, am sure he would choose to be on the Hokulea intsead.
eddie might well have been one of the greatest natural surfers ever. why? he was a native Hawaiian and they invented surfing. Waimea was his home valley, long before it became a white boy surf hot spot.
Race bait much? Good work mythman, my guess is you don’t like white surfers?
Truth is Waimea is Eddie’s home valley. And yes Caucasians (if that is nicer) in fact did “discover” the North Shore, for the outside world. And Yes it became a hot spot for surfers from primarily California, Australia and South Africa who were white, Caucasian, H@ ole. I did not deduce that Mythman dislikes white surfers from his comment. Rather making a point IRT the history of Waimea and Eddie’s connection. Relax not everything is about race.
That’s the way it goes. It will happen soon.
No trash pick up on the North Shore today ; (
No, it’s a go. No it isn’t. Yes, it is.
Problem with Hawaii News Now is they sound more like they’re promoting than reporting. Too much hype.