Luke Shepardson: 2023 The Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational champion.
For the 11th time since its 1984 inception, The Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational is on. After days of anticipation, surfing’s premiere big wave event began on Sunday at 9:00 a.m. HST, with some of the world’s best surfers paddling out through massive surf in Waimea bay.
The competition only runs when wave face heights at Oahu’s Waimea Bay consistently reach 40-feet during the event’s winter waiting period. We first got wind of a possible Eddie on Thursday, when the event’s color-coded alert system hit yellow, eying a possible weekend swell. The following day, the event was confirmed green, giving competitors a day to warm up and shake off any pre-event jitters for a Sunday morning start.
Beyond being a venue for the best surfers in the world to flex their abilities, The Eddie is also a tribute to legendary waterman Eddie Aikau. “The legend of Eddie Aikau is an important part of Hawaiian Culture,” explained the event’s organizers. “Eddie Aikau was a championship athlete, a waterman, and a family man who truly cared for others. Eddie was not just the first lifeguard at Waimea Bay; he was the first lifeguard for the entire North Shore, and saved over 500 people throughout his career. Eddie would brave the waves that often reached 30 feet or more, when no one else would go out. It’s important to keep his legacy alive and inspire the next generation to live like Eddie did.”
If you want to check out the action, you can watch it on the official YouTube live stream below.
