Less than 18 hours after surfing 30-foot waves off Northern California, Jamie Sterling was on the beach at Waimea Bay yesterday morning, ready to ride even bigger ones.

When the Bay calls, the surfers come running.

As it turned out, the call was a no go.

The best big-wave surfers in the world gathered at Waimea Bay yesterday in anticipation of competing in the Quiksilver Big Wave Invitational In Memory of Eddie Aikau.

But after a few hours of studying the conditions, contest director George Downing opted not to run the prestigious event. There were some waves that reached the required height of 40-foot faces, but it was inconsistent. Also, onshore winds created a stormy Waimea Bay.

"It's the right call," Sterling said. "I'm kind of relieved, actually. A bunch of us rushed over here from California. I'm pretty drained from competing in big waves at Mavericks and then having to fly over here."

Sterling, who resides at Sunset Beach, placed third in the Mavericks Surf Contest Saturday.

When word circulated that "The Eddie" might run, he and several other surfers made last-minute travel arrangements to get back to O'ahu.

"More than any other event, this is my highest priority," Sterling said. "For me, this is the pinnacle of big-wave surfing. So once I heard there was a chance of running (yesterday), I wanted to make sure I was here."

North Shore surfer David Wassel also participated in the Mavericks contest Saturday. His return trip went from Oakland to Las Vegas, and then to Honolulu. He arrived on O'ahu around 7 a.m. yesterday.

"I haven't even slept," Wassel said. "But this is a huge deal for us as surfers. It's the biggest contest in the world, basically. I would have done whatever it took to get back here for this."

Many other Hawai'i surfers were still recovering from the final day of the Da Hui Backdoor Shootout contest, which was completed Saturday at the Banzai Pipeline.

"I slept early — out like a light — I was so tired from the Shootout," Mark Healey said. "But it's definitely a good call not to go. It's storm surf out there."

Wassel, a North Shore lifeguard, said the decision to postpone the contest yesterday was also a safe one.

"It's definitely big enough — it's massive," he said. "But the conditions are too stormy. It's out of control."

The Eddie Aikau contest can run at Waimea Bay only on a day when wave-face heights reach at least 40 feet with rideable conditions. Because of that strict standard, it has been completed only seven times since 1986.

The last time it was completed was Dec. 15, 2004, when Kaua'i's Bruce Irons won it.

"The reason this is the most prestigious contest in the world is because it doesn't run every year," Wassel said. "The conditions have to be just right. As long as it stays that way, it will always hold that kind of esteem to it."

By 8 a.m. yesterday, hundreds of spectators had already arrived at Waimea Bay.

"A day like this adds to the mystique," Sterling said. "Yeah, it's big, but it's definitely not a day for The Eddie. It's going to make the next time we run that much more exciting."

The contest has until Feb. 29 to run this year. If not, it will be put on hold again until December.

"I could see us taking a chance to run if this were the last day in February," said Noah Johnson, the 1999 Eddie Aikau champion. "But you can't do anything if the waves aren't good enough. Just wait for another day."

The contest was created in honor of Eddie Aikau, a former lifeguard at Waimea Bay who was lost at sea during a rescue attempt for the voyaging canoe Hokule'a in 1978.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.