The Bay didn’t call the day so Eddie didn’t go. Are you sick of hearing those puns yet?
On February 10th just about everybody and their mom showed up at Waimea Bay ready to watch the 9th running of the Quiksilver Big Wave Invitational in Memory of Eddie Aikau, except the main attraction was caught in South Pacific traffic or something. If you watched the morning announcement that the contest was called off then you likely paid little attention to the words being spoken. Instead, many were more fixated on the waves that weren’t breaking in the background. Waimea Bay looked so calm. So unprepared to make big wave surfing history.
But it’s not like the waves weren’t coming. Contest or not, plenty of people were still hellbent on getting crazy. Some hopped over to Jaws and some stayed on Oahu waiting for that same swell to fill in. Everyone who took part in sessions at either still scored another ridiculous day of XXL madness.
So this year the Eddie just went from being the most revered celebration of surfing to the guy who shows up casually late to his own party, cases of beer in hand, proclaiming “are we still going to party or what?”
Waimea Bay 2/10/16 (No Eddie) from Terry Reis on Vimeo.
