Author(s): Stuart Holmes Coleman

Surfing

In the world of surfing there are legends, and then there's Eddie Aikau. 'Eddie would go', they said, and he did, whatever the weather, whatever the danger. For ten years he was the king of Hawaii's north shore, riding the biggest waves and taming the most dangerous breaks. For ten years he saved countless lives, until tragically, in the end, he sacrificed his own to save his friends. Eddie Aikau grew up in Waikiki, the birthplace of modern surfing, and was riding waves almost as soon as he could walk. By the age of 21 he was the rising star of Hawaii's north shore, always first in the water, always last to leave. Soon he became a lifeguard at Waimea Bay, home to the biggest and most treacherous waves of all. Eddie was a true waterman, and for the rest of his short life, Waimea Bay would be his playground, office and home all in one. Though Eddie was always a modest man, he was a proud Hawaiian, and in the mid-1970s he found himself at the forefront of the Hawaiian Renaissance. In 1978, with his personal life in turmoil, Eddie joined the Hokulea expedition, an attempt to recreate the ancient oceanic voyages between Hawaii and Tahiti. The journey was to go horribly wrong.