Here we are, nearly a week after the Eddie Aikau Invitational and we’re still talking about one of the greatest surf contests to ever go down. It was one of the greatest because Waimea Bay truly looked like the big wave it can be. The Aikau family of course called the contest on a few weeks earlier only to cancel it due to wind. But they certainly made the right call for last Sunday. The winds and swell were glorious and the ending was as epic as it gets: lifeguard Luke Shepardson took home the crown. So unbelievably fitting, given that the contest is in honor of one of Hawaii’s most famous guards.
Well, we’ve gotten visions from the sand, from Kam Highway, from the surrounding hillsides. But we’ve yet to see a full drone recap. That is, until now. Above is a full 15 minutes of unreal drone footage (with a few shots from land mixed in) that demonstrates exactly how good the day was for the Eddie. The images show the wave, in all its glory, and the skill it really takes to first catch up to, then make a wave at the Bay. Drone footage truly gives us the perspective to understand all that is the Eddie.
