With waves between 35 to 45 feet, Oahu’s North Shore gave organizers of the The Quiksiliver In Memory of Eddie Aikau everything needed to green light the big wave surf contest for the first time in five years.
The elusive one day competition did not disappoint.
The surf contest, named after famed surfer and lifeguard Eddie Aikau, requires waves at least 40 feet tall along the face—or front side. Today’s event was only the eighth time the competition has been held since its inaugural contest in 1985.
Thousands massed at Waimea beach to watch the world’s top surfers rocket down the procession of waves- Some arrived at 4 a.m. for a good spot, while others camped out all night.
Tom Carroll, who was planning to compete, was scratched from the competition after a shattering his ankle in a big wave wipeout.
So all was left up to our very own Storm Surfer Ross Clarke Jones. He finished a very creditable sixth over-all in the 28-strong field of elite big wave surfers. Californian surfer Greg Long was narrowly announced winner over Kelly Slater, after an amazing showing in the final rounds.
“The Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau is not a surf contest. It’s a rock concert, a Gathering, a wild Woodstock of a thing, North Shore style. A place where a mass of people come at some crazed ungodly hour of the morning, before the night sky has given it up to the tropical sun, battling through traffic, paying for parking, sleeping on the sand, just in order to … hang out … to be part of something bigger than themselves. Even if they could only see what happened in the shorebreak.”
Ross Clarke Jones
Jan Juc surfer Ross Clarke-Jones right at home in big waves
Eddie Aikau big wave contest begins with 45-foot North Shore Oahu surf.
Waves big enough for extreme competition
Carroll suffers bad ankle dislocation in Hawaii’s big surf
Thousands Flock To Watch Giant Surf
An Injured Tom Carroll is Still Tough Enough to Plug His Sponsor
Bruising Surf at a Rare Big-Wave Event in Hawaii
Carroll crunched by Waimea monster
Hey, this is cool man!
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