Big turquoise waves create perfect Eddie Aikau meet
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
Elite surfers rode waves cresting at 30 feet yesterday, before the Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitationa.
| • | Slater leaves no doubt with victory |
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Staff Writer
Thousands of spectators lined the shore, hillside and road overlooking Waimea Bay yesterday to catch a glimpse of one of the most prestigious big-wave riding competitions in the world.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
The Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational is held only when waves hit 20 feet or higher, and with some sets cresting at 30 feet yesterday — the winter's biggest surf thus far — the event was held for only the fifth time since it began in 1986. The event also was held last year, so yesterday marked the first time "the Eddie" has been held in consecutive years.
With traffic backed up, Scott Swartz of Pupukea and his daughter Chambri, 5, found it easier to walk.
Florida's Kelly Slater finished first.
By noon, traffic crept toward the bay from both directions as drivers strained to see the waves while dodging pedestrians and bicyclists. Some people parked their cars a mile away and hiked to the beach. On the hillside, spectators deployed beach chairs, blankets, umbrellas and coolers. Cameras with wide-angle lenses on tripods snapped away.
All eyes turned seaward on an elite group of surfers good enough and daring enough to catch the mountain of water, slide down its face at breathtaking speed, slip through the tube and outrace the white water before it could swallow them.
The crowd gasped, roared and then applauded, never disappointed in the surfers' performances and the perfect conditions of yesterday's competition.
"It's like the big wave Olympics," said George Downing, 71, who has been associated with the event since its beginning. Downing decides whether the competition will go on, and this year as in four others, he claimed everything was perfect: big, surfable waves, light winds and turquoise water.
