Eddie aikau death8/7/2023 He was surprised when he started to get a little teary-eyed. He retreated inside the lifeguard stand, where he slipped out of his work uniform and into his white competition jersey. When he had finally worked past the throng, the bay opened before him and the undulating ocean revealed itself for the first time that day. Once his feet touched the sand, Luke started picking his way through a mass of tightly packed bodies just to get to his station at the lifeguard tower. On the beach and along the cliffs that line Waimea Bay, some 50,000 spectators would soon squeeze together for a chance to see greatness, to witness ineffable bravery, and to take part in the grand human tradition of watching some guys (and a few women) do truly crazy shit. The Eddie forges champions: Kelly Slater, John John Florence, and Bruce Irons have all won in the past. To be invited to ride them means being one of the 40 most-esteemed surfers in the world, as chosen by a committee of your peers. But the waves produced during the Eddie are perhaps the most sacred on earth. Then he hopped out and took off running for Waimea.Įven on an ordinary day, surfing is imbued with the mystical, every wave hinging on chance and elemental collision-a storm in Japan will create a swell thousands of miles away in Hawaii. He kissed Natalia and told her to take the wheel. His family was with him, so Luke made a split-second decision. But no matter how much they hustled, rent always seemed to be due, groceries got pricier, the gas tank needed filling, and the medical bills piled up. His girlfriend, Natalia, was already working three gigs. He was 27 years old, with two small children. And I'd follow these turtles." Clyde and the Aikau family greeted thousands of fans at Waimea with warm wishes.And Luke needed his good, stable job. And just rip it up, come all the way in, and I'd paddle out, and the turtles would be there again. And as soon as I got to that point, the biggest wave of the day would just pull right in, and I'd jump right on it. "And this is where everybody sits down, all five guys, and I would follow the turtles past them, and go deeper than all of them, about a hundred feet out. "So I looked at these two turtles, and I followed them." he told Leslie Cox of PBS during a sit down in 2014. And during the 1986 event, two turtles kept popping up in front of Clyde, guiding him to the perfect takeoff spot after each of his rides. But during his first surf back he noticed a there were suddenly a pair of turtles in the lineup. Angel was one of Waimea's original pioneers, and close friend.Īfter Eddie's 1978 death Clyde was so devastated he didn't surf Waimea for a couple years. Clyde and Eddie joked about it, figuring it for the late Jose Angel, a legendary North Shore surfer and waterman who had died during a free-diving accident in 1976. Eddie, the story goes, appeared as a sea turtle in the lineup.īut around 1977, the year before Eddie was lost at sea, only one turtle routinely showed up on big days at Waimea. In 1986, when Clyde won the first Eddie Memorial event ever held at Waimea Bay, he told others afterward that his brother led him to victory. WSL / tony heffĬlyde's relationship with The Bay runs deep, too. Clyde earned a huge standing ovation from the throng of adoring fans on hand. To put Thursday's conditions in perspective, as Clyde called the contest ON, he described the waves as the best he'd seen in more than 40 years, harkening back to Waimea's golden era. According to Clyde, that was the day Eddie caught the biggest waves ever ridden. The pair saved hundreds of lives, and while they also shared many memorable sessions his most vivid is Big Wednesday, November 19, 1967, which he considers the heaviest day ever. He and Eddie began surfing it regularly in the late 60s, and they were both lifeguards there in the 70s, when Waimea Bay was a favorite R&R spot for soldiers on leave from the Vietnam War. The 66-year-old Hawaiian legend made his last Eddie competition a memorable one with his inspiring performance.įor 66-year-old Clyde, this would be his last time competing.Ĭlyde is no stranger to the Bay.
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