But sweet redemption at the end?
Surfers, near and far, are still buzzing about the ’24 running of the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational. The epic show at Waimea Bay on December 22nd has only grown in its legend in the ensuing days. Clips, for example, of Jamie O’Brien and Nathan Florence being uploaded to video sharing channels. Images of Ross Clarke-Jones having his hand re-attached, after wipeout, while hacking a dart and drinking a cold Modelo. And now, most cinematic of all, the day’s hero Landon McNamara has been arrested and subsequently let out on bail on an old warrant.
The incident leading to the arrest occurred last December when the 28-year-old broke a window at his family home and was detained by the police. When put in a holding cell, he proceeded to break his cell window and later kicked the plexiglass partition in a police cruiser.
The case for the home window was dropped and he pleaded no contest on the issue of the cell window thus being released on $2000 bail. He will be back in court, per Island News, on Monday, Dec. 30.
Landon’s father, the legend Liam McNamara, posted how proud he was of his son bettering himself over the past year and winning the most prestigious surf contest on earth.
His lawyer, Darrell Wong, released a statement reading:
Landon McNamara is charged with a matter that took place over a year ago. It was a matter that allegedly occurred contemporaneously with a misdemeanor matter of which he pled no contest to and was granted a Deferred Acceptance. Both these matters were related to personal issues and challenges that Mr. McNamara was experiencing during December of last year (2023). Mr. McNamara took immediate steps to overcome these challenges and for this reason, the District Court Judge in the former matter found him to be a qualified and deserving candidate for a deferral. Mr. McNamara has been free of any arrests over this past year and continues to overcome the challenges that once plagued him.
A comeback for the ages?
Redemption song.