The answer is "Yes."
Of course you have been paying attention and of course you know. Oahu’s North Shore, home to Turtle Bay, Pupukea Grill, Off da Wall and Waimea Bay which is, in turn, home to the Eddie Aikau Invitational brought to you by… I don’t think Quiksilver anymore… has been experiencing a run of climate change induced swell so grand, so large, that 50 people were in need of rescue there just yesterday.
50 whole people and pandemonium. Chaos. Disaster. But also perfect for the Eddie Aikau Invitational brought to you by…. Yeti coolers? I truly can’t remember. In any case, the last time the even ran was in 1911 when Duke Kahanamoku outlasted Bryan Adams for bragging rights and a brand new
Could it have run yesterday?
Should it have?
Let us turn Hawaii’s local KHON news for more.
One of the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational surfers and forecasters for the event was out at Waimea Saturday morning.
“Surprisingly a few 20-footers came through and it almost worried me because I’m one of the Eddie forecasters and I was kind of thinking while I was out there like ‘Did we blow it by not calling on the contest? Because this is a legitimate set,” said surfer Chris Owens.
He said Saturday’s surf models weren’t showing the right seas versus period for them to “confidently call on the contest.”
“The contest has really stepped up on the criteria, ever since Greg Long won it in 2009, and we want it to be 20-25 feet which is like between 40 foot and 50 foot waves faces and we always want the Eddie to be a memorable day, a day you look back and go ‘Wow it was huge that day,’” Owens said.
“Waimea is the best arena in the world for a big wave event and the Eddie is the greatest show on earth when it happens,” he said.
So…. what. Have the contest forecasters carved out their very enviable jobs, will “test” every swell, seeing if it’s good enough and deem it unworthy?
True surfers the lot of them.
See you when the Eddie runs next in 3467.
And by “see you” mean from heaven where I will have unobstructed views as long as extra-portly Ashton Goggans is not sitting in front of me.