(Photos: Costa del Mar)
Editor’s Note: This feature is presented by our partners at Costa del Mar.
While many of us pull out 4/3s and booties, surfing’s elite head to the North Shore for another winter of boardshorts and tubes. Stoke for this season is already reverberating around the surf world as videos of the first massive Pipeline swells this winter hit the internet and drew speculation about what these early-season waves could mean for the coming months.
The question on everyone’s mind: will this season see a big enough swell to greenlight The Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational?
The Legendary Big Wave Event
Held for the first time in 1984, The Eddie has produced some of the most iconic moments in surf history—from Bruce Irons’ winning wave in 2004/05 to local lifeguard Luke Shepardson taking the event in 2022/23. These wins are impressive in their own right. But two of ten surfers have walked away with a win in the event’s 40-year history.
Why are there so few champions of The Eddie? The event relies on conditions in Waimea Bay. For The Eddie to run, wave heights must consistently reach 40 feet during the waiting period—December 14, 2024, through March 13, 2025. The bay calls the day. No big waves? No competition. Due to these strict requirements, The Eddie has only run ten times since its inception, with the most recent event in the 2022/23 season.
Big Wave Glory, by Invitation Only
The fickle nature of The Eddie doesn’t deter top surfers from hoping for a coveted spot on the invite list. On the contrary, the anticipation only adds to the hype.
Event organizers released the invite list for the 2024/25 competition at the beginning of October. Among the 70 names on the who’s-who of surfing list: six past winners—including Luke Shepardson (2023), John John Florence (2016), Greg Long (2009), Bruce Irons (2004), Kelly Slater (2002), and Ross Clarke-Jones (2001)—Olympic Gold Medalist Kauli Vaast, and other big names in the sport from Hawaii and around the world.
Some athletes, like Costa Del Mar ambassador and Hawaii local Mark Healey, have earned a spot on the invite list more than 20 times. Mark and his peers eagerly watch the Waimea Bay weather report each year to see if this time The Eddie will be a go.
Waimea Bay & Eddie Aikau’s Legacy
On Oahu, watching the forecast is often less about if a swell will come and more about when—and how big. The reliable surf breaks along the famed Seven Mile Miracle keep most surfers entertained even with more mellow swells. Of course, that doesn’t stop top surfers from holding out hope for the big ones.
But when the necessary 40-foot swells don’t show, The Eddie still plays an important role in elevating Hawaiian culture through the legacy of the event’s namesake waterman Eddie Aikau. As the first lifeguard for Waimea Bay and the entire North Shore, Aikau saved more than 500 people in his career—often braving 30-foot swells few others could endure. For Healey and other local surfers, The Eddie not only honors Aikau’s contributions to big wave culture and safety on the North Shore but also offers a chance to give back to the place they all call home.
Kick Plastic with Costa and The Eddie Aikau Foundation
This year, Healey and his sponsors at Costa have teamed up with the Eddie Aikau Foundation to host a beach clean-up at Waimea Bay Beach Park on December 1, just before the waiting period for The Eddie kicks off. The event is open to the public, and surfers and non-surfers are encouraged to participate. “We strive to incorporate community in everything we do at Costa,” says Costa Eyewear Brand Director Jed Larkin. For Costa, that means helping to care for the marine environments we recreate in.
With a 40-year history of conservation work, Costa knows beach clean-ups are only part of the solution. The brand actively works to reduce plastic entering our oceans through its Kick Plastic initiative. Designed to protect what’s out there, Costa’s Kick Plastic program has helped to recycle over 35 tons of plastic lenses and helped reduce single-use plastic water bottle use by 500,000+ annually since it launched in 2015.
Whether you’re planning to catch waves on the North Shore this season or watching from afar, you can channel the spirit of The Eddie by joining Costa’s Kick Plastic movement and participating in local conservation efforts in your area.
