Luke Shepardson Wins the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational

The focus was on the three words on the back of every competitor’s jersey: “Eddie Would Go.”

And go they did.

Makua Rothman, who suffered an injury at a surf competition a week ago, paddled out with a heavy knee brace. Michael Ho, 65, competed alongside his son, Mason, 34. Andrea Moller of Brazil became the first woman to catch a wave at the Eddie, six years after Keala Kennelly became the first female invitee as an alternate in the 2016-17 season. Moller and Kennelly were two of the six women invited to compete, along with six alternates.

There are many ways to wipe out on a 50-foot wave, none of them good. Some surfers immediately went airborne, trying to stand but instead plummeting from the height of a fourth-floor balcony. Others successfully navigated a steep vertical drop only to be consumed by a wall of white water that sucked them into the world’s most turbulent washing machine. Then there were the surfers who skipped down the face of a wave like stones on a pond, and others who somersaulted over the lip.

Multiple surfers deployed their safety vests underwater, pulling a tab that inflated the vests and lifted them above the white water. The North Shore lifeguards were quick to swoop in on water scooters and bring them back to shore, helping them deflate their vests on land so they could head back into the whirling ocean.

As heats ended, surfers returned to shore to booming cheers. Once safely on land, many quietly stood at the edge of the water, reflecting on the stadium, one that rarely produces these conditions.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/23/sports/eddie-aikau-big-wave-invitational.html