‘Eddie’ big wave surfing competition will go on Wednesday
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Large surf rolls towards the shore on Monday, February 1, 2016 at Waimea Bay on Oahu’s North Shore.
Organizers of the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau big wave surfing competition say the event will go on Wednesday at Waimea Bay.
“It has taken us six years to pull the trigger, but this is the first swell we have seen that is truly lining up as an Eddie swell,” said Event Director Glen Moncata.
The National Weather Service office in Honolulu is predicting surf to climb steadily Wednesday morning into the “extra-large” category, meaning breakers on outer reefs.
“The swell will be up right up there with the biggest ones this season,” said Derek Wroe, a meteorologist with the Honolulu office of the National Weather Service.
In addition, winds will be light, which is also favorable for the surf competition.
In the meantime, a high surf advisory is in effect until 6 a.m. Tuesday.
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Surf along the north and west facing shores of Kauai and Niihau and the north facing shores of Oahu, Molokai, and Maui is expected to be 12 to 16 feet, according to the National Weather Service.
Forecasters say the high surf will continue through early Tuesday, when a new north-northwest swell arrives.
The Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau is a one-day big wave event requiring wave-face heights of around 40 feet (20-foot Hawaiian-style measurements). The event was last held on Dec. 8, 2009, and has only been held a total of eight times in its 29-year history. It is only held when wave heights and surf conditions meet contest standards.
The holding period for the contest runs until the end of February.
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EVENT HEAT DRAW:
Heat 1:
Shane Dorian (HAW)
Kohl Christensen (HAW)
Greg Long (CA)
Ramon Navarro (CHI)
Sunny Garcia (HAW)
Ross Clarke-Jones (AUS)
Jamie Mitchell (AUS)
Heat 2:
Kelly Slater (FL)
David Wassell (HAW)
Grant Baker (ZAF)
Reef McIntosh (HAW)
Jamie O’Brien (HAW)
Aaron Gold (HAW)
Tom Carroll (AUS)
Heat 3:
John John Florence (HAW)
Mark Healey (HAW)
Clyde Aikau (HAW)
Nathan Fletcher (CA)
Noah Johnson (HAW)
Peter Mel (CA)
Takayuki Wakita (JPN)
Heat 4:
Bruce Irons (HAW)
Makuakai Rothman (HAW)
Ian Walsh (HAW)
Albee Layer (HAW)
Kala Alexander (HAW)
Garrett McNamara (HAW)
Jeremy Flores (FRA)
TOP 5 ALTERNATES:
Mason Ho (HAW)
Danilo Couto (BRA)
Mark Mathews (AUS)
Koa Rothman (HAW)
Ben Wilkinson (AUS)
