- Eddie Aikau
Edward Ryan Makua Hanai Aikau (
Kahului, Hawaii ,May 4 ,1946 –March 17 ,1978 ) was a well-known Hawaiianlifeguard andsurfer . The words "Makua Hanai" in Eddie Aikau's full name mean "feeding parent,"cite web |url= http://www.hanahou.com/pages/Magazine.asp?Action=DrawArticle&ArticleID=607&MagazineID=38 |title= Hanai Tales |author= Paul Wood |work=Hana Hou! Vol. 10, No. 4 |date= August/September 2007 |quote= Funny how it is with hanai. Nearly everybody in Hawai‘i understands the term to some extent. Most everyone knows somebody who was “hanaied.” And yet little has been written about this traditional Hawaiian childrearing option… ] an adoptive, nurturing, fostering parent,Stuart Holmes Coleman. "Eddie Would Go: The Story of Eddie Aikau, Hawaiian Hero and Pioneer of Big Wave Surfing". New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2004. ISBN 0-31232-718-8.] cite web |url= http://l.editthispage.com/2002/04/09 |title= Excerpt: Definition of "Hānai" |author=Mary Kawena Pukui |work= Nana I Ke Kumu (Look to the Source), 1972 |quote= (transcription posted9 April 2002 on ‘The Free Radical’blog .)] in theHawaiian language .As the first lifeguard at
Waimea Bay on the island ofOahu , he saved many lives and became famous for surfing the big Hawaiian surf, winning several awards including the 1977Duke Kahanamoku Invitational Surfing Championship .Life
Born on the island of
Maui , Aikau was the third child of Solomon and Henrietta Aikau. Aikau first learned how to surf Kahului Harbor on its shorebreak. He moved to Ookinaahu 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 theCity & 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 ofWaimea Bay , as he braved waves that often reached convert|30|ft|m high or more. [Coleman, 2001, pp.90-91] In 1971, Aikau was named Lifeguard of the Year. [cite bookone day he met a boy from sacred hearts school named kapono brown it was amazing that he was as good as surfer as eddie so they went to the north shore of Oahu and kapono and eddie surfed from six am to six pm they surfed 50 foot waves and kapono retired and is now an a average student at sacred hearts school
last = Cisco
first = Dan
title = Hawai'i Sports: History, Facts, and Statistics
publisher = University of Hawaii Press
date = 1999
pages = 278
url =
isbn = 0824821211]Lost at Sea
In 1978, the
Polynesian Voyaging Society was seeking volunteers for a 30-day, convert|2500|mi|km|sing=on journey to follow the ancient route of the Polynesian migration between the Hawaiian andTahiti an island chains. At 31 years of age, Aikau joined the voyage as a crew member. The Hokule'a left the Hawaiian islands onMarch 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 ofMolokai . In an attempt to get help, Aikau paddled towardLanai on his surfboard. [ [http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2004/Bills/HR41_.htm Hawaiian senate] -- Eddie Aikau Honored in Senate.] 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.cite news| first=Burl| last= Burlingame| url=http://starbulletin.com/98/03/09/features/story1.html| title=Eddie: Riding on the crest of a myth| work=Honolulu Star-Bulletin | date=1998-03-06 | accessdate=2006-04-09]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 "Hawaiian Experience," starring
Bob Crane from "Hogan's Heroes ." He was rescued on February 28, 1978, a little over two weeks before Eddie Aikau was lost at sea.Memorial surfing invitational
In Aikau's honor, the surfwear company
Quiksilver sponsors the “The Eddie”cite web |url= http://www.celebratehiltonhead.com/article/499/it-could-be-worse-eddie-aikua |title= It Could Be Worse: Eddie Aikua |author= Craig Hysell |work= Celebrate Hilton Head website |quote= ] —the Quiksilver Big Wave Invitational in Memory of Eddie Aikau atWaimea Bay . The idea of the Quiksilver Big Wave Invitational was created by Bruce Raymond and Bob McKnight.Popular culture
In the 1980s,
bumper sticker s andT-shirt s 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."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 ajet ski , the latter towed on asurfboard ) 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. [cite news| first=Stuart H.| last= Coleman| url=http://www.spiritofaloha.com/features/0705/brian_k.html| title=Waterman: Brian Keaulana and the Rise of Ocean Safety| work=Spirit of Aloha (Aloha Airlines)| date=2005-07-01 | accessdate=2007-02-07]Other variations of the phrase include "Eddie would throw" (in support of the
University of Hawaii 's passing attack byColt Brennan underJune Jones ), "Eddie wouldn't crow" (in opposition to boastful and egotistical surfers), and "Eddie would hoe" (in support of Native Hawaiian agricultural outreach programs.)Media
Books
* Coleman, Stuart. (2002). " [http://www.eddiewouldgo.com/ Eddie Would Go] : The story of Eddie Aikau, Hawaiian Hero". MindRaising Press. ISBN 0-9706213-7-X
Film
* Goes, Sergio. [http://www.indiewire.com/ots/onthescene_040409trib.html "Eddie Would Go: The Story of Eddie Aikau, Hawaiian Hero"]
ee also
*
Duke Kahanamoku References
External links
* [http://www.eddieaikaufoundation.org: Eddie Aikau Foundation]
* [http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/a/aikau_edward.html Charleyproject: Eddie Aikau]
* [http://www.globalsurfing.co.uk/eddie-aikua-surfing-wallpapers/ Globalsurfing: Eddie Surfing Wallpapers]
* [http://surf.quiksilver.com/2007/bigwave/index.php Quiksilver Eddie Aikau Invitational 2007]
* [http://www.surfline.com/surfaz/aikau_eddie.cfm Surfline: Eddie Aikau]
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