Edward Ryan Makua Hanai Aikau (Kahului, Hawaii, May 4, 1946 – March 17, 1978) was a well-known Hawaiian lifeguard and surfer. The words Makua Hanai in Eddie Aikau’s full name mean feeding parent,[1] an adoptive, nurturing, fostering parent,[2][3] in the Hawaiian language. As the first lifeguard at Waimea Bay on the island of Oahu, he saved many lives and became famous for surfing the big Hawaiian surf, winning several awards including the 1977 Duke Kahanamoku Invitational Surfing Championship.

Life
Born in Kahului, Maui, Aikau was the third child of Solomon and Henrietta Aikau. Aikau first learned how to surf at Kahului Harbor on its shorebreak. He moved to Oʻahu with his family in 1959, and at the age of 16 left school and started working at the Dole pineapple cannery; The paycheck allowed Aikau to buy his first surfboard. In 1968, he became the first lifeguard hired by the City & County of Honolulu to work on the North Shore. The City & County of Honolulu gave Aikau the task of covering all of the beaches between Sunset and Haleiwa. Not one life was lost while he served as lifeguard of Waimea Bay, as he braved waves that often reached 30 feet (9.1 m) high or more.[4] In 1971, Aikau was named Lifeguard of the Year.[5]

Lost at Sea
In 1978, the Polynesian Voyaging Society was seeking volunteers for a 30-day, 2,500-mile (4,000 km) journey to follow the ancient route of the Polynesian migration between the Hawaiian and Tahitian island chains. At 31 years of age, Aikau joined the voyage as a crew member. The Hokule’a left the Hawaiian islands on March 16, 1978. The double-hulled voyaging canoe developed a leak in one of the hulls and later capsized about twelve miles (19 km) south of the island of Molokai. In an attempt to get help, Aikau paddled toward Lanai on his surfboard.[6] Although the rest of the crew was later rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard, Aikau was never seen again. The ensuing search for Aikau was the largest air-sea search in Hawaii history.[7]

The last person lifeguard Eddie Aikau rescued at Waimea Bay was a young TV producer named John Orland, who had just wrapped up production on a TV pilot called the “Hawaii Experience,” starring Bob Crane from Hogan’s Heroes. He was rescued on February 19, 1978, less than a month before Eddie Aikau was lost at sea.

Memorial surfing invitational
In Aikau’s honor, the surfwear company Quiksilver sponsors the “The Eddie”[8]—the Quiksilver Big Wave Invitational in Memory of Eddie Aikau at Waimea Bay. The idea of the Quiksilver Big Wave Invitational was created by Bruce Raymond and Bob McKnight.

Since its inception (Eddie Aikau’s brother Clyde Aikau[8] won the first Eddie in 1985), the tournament has only been held seven times, due to a precondition that open-ocean swells reach a minimum of 20 feet (this translates to a wave face height of over 30 feet).[9] The most recent tournament was in December 2004, when waves in the bay reached 30 to 50 feet (15 m) high. The contest only invites 24 big-wave riders to participate in two rounds of competition. The event does not allow the use of jet skis to tow surfers into the waves.

Popular culture
In the 1980s, bumper stickers and T-shirts with the phrase “Eddie Would Go” spread around the Hawaiian Islands and to the rest of the world. According to maritime historian Mac Simpson, “Aikau was a legend on the North Shore, pulling people out of waves that no one else would dare to. That’s where the saying came from — Eddie would go, when no else would or could. Only Eddie dared.”[7]

Another variation of the aforementioned popular phrase is “Eddie wouldn’t tow.” This phrase is in reference to the method of big wave surfing in which one surfer must accelerate another surfer (the former on a jet ski, the latter towed on a surfboard) to the speed of a large, fast wave. It is also partially in response to the controversy over the “unnaturalness” of tow-in surfing; many surfers feel that being towed in to a wave, as opposed to paddling, is against the spirit of the sport.[10]

Other variations of the phrase include “Eddie would throw” (in support of the University of Hawaii’s passing attack by Colt Brennan under June Jones), “Eddie wouldn’t crow” (in opposition to boastful and egotistical surfers), and “Eddie would hoe” (in support of Native Hawaiian agricultural outreach programs). Another variation used recently during the 2008 election campaign for Honolulu rail transit was the slogan, “Eddie would ride.”

We’ve honestly been completely overwhelmed by your response to our current Blem promotion.If we tried to respond to the hundreds of emails one by one, it would take a long time to get through the list. (we aren’t that smart, and we are lazy)

For those of you interested (even if you’ve already contacted us) please be as specific and direct as possible. Please to go to our website and pick out up to three possible boards you may be interested in.

As I’m sure you can appreciate, if we have this information in advance of contacting you, it will greatly ease our ability to possibly fulfill your needs. In this way, we can prioritize our response based on our blem stock, which will change constantly as we fill orders.

Thanks again.
Firewire Crew
This message was sent by: brion lange, 4937 Market St, San Diego, CA 92102

As with any production process, some boards are built with minor flaws. We have a few cosmetic blems in stock, surfboards with minor inconsistencies but nothing structural that would affect performance. The flaws could be anything from tiny specs of dirt in the cloth here or there, finger prints under the glass (yes, we’re very particular), or logos slightly off center.

As a courtesy for your loyal support and in light of the economic conditions, we are offering these blemished boards for direct sale to our friends and family. (Offer limited to continental US only)

We are giving them up for $375 without fins + Frt and Tax (if applicable).If you are interested, please contact us at info.usa@firewiresurfboards.com.Our supply and selection of boards is limited, so act fast to take advantage of this one time deal. (even though we send these emails all the time)

We’ve come a long way so far, and we owe a lot of that to you, so whether you take us up on this one or not – THANKS.

Firewire Crew
This message was sent by: brion lange, 4937 Market St, San Diego, CA 92102