Hundreds paid respects to Clyde Aikau. Photo: Instagram//GoFundme//Aikau Ohana
A memorial paddle out in honor of a surfing legend and waterman was appropriately named “The Last Ride with Uncle Clyde Aikau.” The Aikau family had delivered an open invitation to anyone and everyone who wished to come out to Waikiki to pay their respects and on Thursday, June 26, 2025, hundreds of people showed up for that last ride.
Aikau was most often associated with big wave surfing for his role in leading the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational at Waimea Bay, which ran 11 times between its inception in 1985 and December of 2024, the last Eddie before Clyde’s passing. His legacy and leadership didn’t just inspire a love for the ocean when it saw waves larger than 20 feet, though.
“It didn’t matter if it was one-footers out here in Waikiki, he wanted us to get stoked out in the water. And this translated all the way back up to the North Shore,” Dr. Cliff Kapono said on Thursday morning. Kapono first met Clyde in Waikiki. “It’s kind of (come) full circle to be back here in these waves with him.”
Kapono also told local KHON2 that Clyde Aikau’s education was another source of inspiration to others. Aikau was a strong advocate for access to education. He attended the University of Hawaii at Mānoa where he studied sociology and served as a liaison between the Department of Education and houseless families and children throughout Hawaii. His work ensured they could access basic school supplies and transportation, eliminating common barriers that prevent underserved individuals from basic education needs. Kapono said that he was recently in South Africa, and while sharing the news of Clyde’s upcoming memorial he was able to see Aikau’s influence was global.
“He perpetuated the roots and culture of big wave riding, he was like a dad to not just big wave riders but to Waikiki beach (kids, and kids on) all sides of the island,” Ezra Rodrigues told KHON2 on Thursday. “He was internationally known and it’s just chicken skin to see how many people in our surf industry gather here in Waikiki, and we’re gonna give him his last ride.”
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