.

Page 4 of 4

Later that day, after hours in a line-up filled with the best big wave riders in the world, Eddie’s brother, Clyde Aikau, emerged the winner. His very first wave was a 20-footer, and from that point on Clyde never looked back. Mark Foo challenged by riding the biggest wave of the event, a 25-five footer, but Clyde had been too consistent. It was his day, and everyone was stoked he was the first to win in his brother’s name.

The next event went off on Sunday, Jan.21,1990, at Waimea Bay in perfect 20-to 25-foot surf with some 30-foot sets. After a wait of nearly three years, the combination of a typhoon in the Philippines and gigantic storm off Japan combined to produce sustained winds of over 50-knots. This generated what veteran Waimea surfers called one of the most consistent and ridable big days in the history of surf at The Bay.

An international field of 33 invited surfers contested the flawless waves in two rounds for a total of six hours. Each round had three heats of 11 surfers who were allowed to catch four waves in one hour. Each surfer, after resting for one to hours was able to go out again in Round Two to catch an additional four waves. Surfers were judged on their four highest-scoring rides from the two rouds. This unique format allowed each surfer a chance to come from behind, as many did.

Keone Downing consistently selected the biggest waves to win the event and $55,000, the richest prize ever given in the history of the sport. A fellow surfer commented, "Keone was on a mission with no distractions other than methodically selecting big waves, positioning deep, using a high line of vertical descent with maximun speed across the face of the wave." He charged the Bay with elegance and respect. On Friday, Dec.29,1995, round one of the two-round Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau was held in some of the biggest waves to hit Waimea in over five years. But Contest Director George Downing had noticed the huge swell was tapering in size, and discontinued the event after the first round with Brock Little in the lead followed closely by Ross Clarke-Jones, Sunny Garcia and Clyde Aikau. The waiting period expired before the 20-foot wave requirement was met. Each partecipant in Round One was awarded $2,000.

Big swells are made by sustained high winds from storm systems that force their energy into the water over a great area (called a fetch) and require thousands of miles to organize into clean, even swells. These are the swells that make the perfectly-shaped huge waves needed to run the Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau.

For measuring wave height from shore, two transits are used that enable accurate measuring of wave heights by standard methods of triangulation. Two observers with transits and two-way radios focus on a surfer-target as the troughs and then their respective crests pass by.

The other method, also used in scientific wave studies, is to know or estimate the water depth at the site where the wave breaks. The standard formula under laboratory conditions is that waves break at.78 times the water depth. So waves breaking in approximately 10-feet of water are about 8-feet high (from trough to crest). This.78 ratio with the bottom slope. Steep slopes create higher, plunging waves such as Pipeline, while gentle slopes generate milder, spilling waves like the gentle breaks of Waikiki.

If you get to the event early, you’ll see surfers watching the water and checking the conditions-timing the intervals between the biggest waves, counting the number of waves in a set, watching the winds and the surface texture of the water. They’ll be looking for any patterns and idiosyncrasies peculiar to the swell, gaining information they can use in the water.

On the beach the surfers stand at the water’s edge, waves surging against their feet, waiting for a lull in the relentless shorebreak. This is a moment of silence…and introspection. As the surfer launches off the sands of Waimea Bay and paddles out towards the huge waves, he’s swept into another world. He is pitting himself against the energy of a storm system, facing the fury of nature with only his wits and a surfboard to rely on. It makes no difference to the ocean whether he lives or dies that day, it is solely up to him. If the big wave rider has done everything correctly, he experiences one of life’s greatest moments. Adrenaline shudders through his body, an indescribable high rushes through his entire being. He surfs for the day, hopping to meet his wave. It happens to every big wave rider-a special wave-an encounter so significant that it will imprint the depths of his soul.

Surfing big waves in Hawaii is regarded as the ultimate test of a surfer’s skill. Those that have passed this test of survival, courage and skill are no longer regarded as merely surfers, they become known as watermen.

These watermen face the extreme challenge of huge surf with nothing but their ability, a pair of trunks and a big wave board.

Of the millions of surfers around the world, only a small group of watermen can handle huge waves in Hawaii. Accomplished watermen that have proven themselves in Hawaii are honoured with an invitation to participate in the extreme conditions of the Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau.