Getting your player ready...
HONOLULU — A surfing contest held only in extreme conditions was underway for the first time in five years Tuesday, thanks to massive waves pounding Oahu’s famed North Shore.
Thousands massed at Waimea beach to watch the world’s top surfers rocket down waves 30 feet high. Popularly known as “The Eddie,” the competition is held only when waves top 20 feet in Waimea Bay. This is only the eighth time the conditions have been right since the event was founded in 1984.
The contest is held in honor of Eddie Aikau, a legendary Hawaiian surfer, lifeguard at Waimea Bay and waterman who died in 1978 at age 31 trying to save the crew of a voyaging canoe.
