Wednesday, December 9, 2009

"Eddie" Went

Aloha Beach Bums & Bunnies
Welcome to . . .
Oahu's North Shore, Waimea Bay,
and
The Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational Surf Meet.


Yesterday was the day.

For the first time in five years,
and only the eighth time since it's 1984 founding,
the contest was held.


Eddie's brother Clyde
competed at age 60.


Greg Long, 24 of San Clemente, Calif.,
took home the first place purse of $55,000
edging out his childhood idol Kelly Slater with a score of 323.
Slater, 37, placed second with 313.

"I'm humbled to be even in this event," Long told AP reporter Audrey McAvoy, adding that he had posters of today's competing athletes on his walls growing up. "To be recognized amongst them on the invitee list was a dream come true for me."

Kauai-born Sunny Garcia placed third.

The North Shore saw 30- to 40-foot waves,
with some sets approaching 50 feet on the outer reefs
as Hawaii remained under a high surf warning.
The high surf was caused by two large storms northwest of Hawaii.



















ALOHA, & Thanks for YOUR visit today! cloudia
at

26 comments:

  1. AnonymousDecember 9, 2009 at 3:32 AM

    I watched the last 2 hours of the surf meet on cable TV, and saw Greg Long avoid a wipeout. He deserved the $55,000 grand prize. He was phenomenal.

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  2. AnonymousDecember 9, 2009 at 3:57 AM

    Huge waves requires Huge patience & skills. Congratulations.

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  3. the walking manDecember 9, 2009 at 5:16 AM

    Glad you guys had your Eddie. Glad the Midwest had their snow. Glad Detroit is so bad neither dare venture in here. Now send some rain to the draught areas.

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  4. KayDecember 9, 2009 at 5:21 AM

    Oh wow! I guess you can see it a lot better on TV. They looked like ants where we were watching from.

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  5. Sepiru ChrisDecember 9, 2009 at 5:48 AM

    Dear Cloudia,

    Watching big wave surfing, Cloudia, makes me want to pack everything in and just become a surfer.

    Not that I am very good at little waves, but the ocean is a great thing to frolic in.

    A entity to be respected, yes, but to frolic in and rejoice in, too.

    Actually, what I really like in surfing is the time between sets when you balance on your upturned board, sitting with shish kebab legs in the water for the sharks, watching the waves come in and getting into the rhythm of the ocean... waiting for the next wave that you will choose to join...

    Great post, Cloudia.

    Thanks for that video clip, too.

    Tschuess,
    Chris

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  6. Reader WilDecember 9, 2009 at 5:58 AM

    I saw Eddie on the news! Impressive!

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  7. JeanDecember 9, 2009 at 6:07 AM

    gd share of vid

    A smile from SJ =)

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  8. roughterrain craneDecember 9, 2009 at 6:23 AM

    I've never seen such a big wave like this.
    brave

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  9. wennDecember 9, 2009 at 7:25 AM

    nice..

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  10. DinaDecember 9, 2009 at 7:49 AM

    Oi veh, the video is almost too much for this worrying Jewish Mother's heart.
    Nu, so you were OK on your boat?

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  11. DeniseinVADecember 9, 2009 at 8:24 AM

    That was an exciting video Cloudia, and those guys have nerves of steel. I can only imagine how thrilling their rides were. Fantastic post as always :)

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  12. Kavita SahariaDecember 9, 2009 at 8:39 AM

    Bravehearts!!!I saw a very good deal of Eddie at Kay's too.Must have been very exciting!!Aloha Cloudia.

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  13. claudeDecember 9, 2009 at 9:50 AM

    Hi Cloudia !
    There are some surf events in south west of the country on Atlantic ocean bord but waves are not so neither high nor big.

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  14. DarylDecember 9, 2009 at 10:40 AM

    Cowabunga!

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  15. Charles GramlichDecember 9, 2009 at 11:39 AM

    50 feet waves? wow. I'd be watching from well ashore.

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  16. AkelamaluDecember 9, 2009 at 12:07 PM

    OMG that clip is just awesome! :0

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  17. CloudiaDecember 9, 2009 at 12:52 PM

    Thank You!

    We here on the South Shore are not exposed to the great surf. So, yes, we're doing fine, thanks.

    Waikiki is a gentle place to learn to surf, though Summer (when Winter is in the southern hemisphere and aims storms at us from that direction) can see very nice surf, but not 40-50 feet for sure!

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  18. Noe Noe Girl...A Queen of all Trades.December 9, 2009 at 9:32 PM

    I hear about this on the news and now seeing the video...all I can say is awesome and unreal! Thanks for sharing.
    <><

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  19. David CranmerDecember 9, 2009 at 11:43 PM

    I would drown for sure.

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  20. Elizabeth BradleyDecember 9, 2009 at 11:46 PM

    I have several surfers in my family, they LOVE Hawaii, you know I still haven't been to visit Hawaii? What a shame. I think I'll get there next year though. Aloha1

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  21. NancyDecember 10, 2009 at 12:34 AM

    I've been following this on the news. Thanks so much for the footage! Unbelievable wave action!

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  22. DinaDecember 10, 2009 at 2:46 AM

    Spirals in the sky for you! --
    http://catholicgauze.blogspot.com/2009/12/rocket-causes-atmospheric-event-in.html

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  23. AnonymousDecember 10, 2009 at 4:45 AM

    Amazing! I cannot even imagine surfing! How the surfers stay on the boards is mind boggling.

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  24. RobinDecember 10, 2009 at 9:05 AM

    That is unbelievable. The only video I'd seen up to now is someone's home video and I couldn't even make out whether there were people in the water. Thanks for sharing. I'm glad you stopped by so that I could have the chance to come discover your blog in return.

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  25. CloudiaDecember 10, 2009 at 2:42 PM

    Thanks for coming today!

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  26. UnknownDecember 10, 2009 at 4:45 PM

    Those children in the photo sure are adorable. :-)

    muuuuuuah, aloha, hi, how are ya? Peace, love and all groovy things!

    ReplyDelete

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