Holy crap! Just when big wave surfing couldn’t get much hotter…it did.
El Niño has waved his little magic stick all over the North Pacific this season and according to Quiksilver’s Global Event Director, Troy Brooks, a bombing swell is headed directly towards Waimea.
The official line is, The Eddie will kick off on Wednesday (Hawaii) with the necessary 40-foot faces due to arrive shortly after 10am.
“This one is perfect for a full day’s competition,” Brooks told Tracks moments ago.
“The last couple swells have either peaked too early or not been consistent enough but this one will keep building throughout the day, so it fits in perfectly with the format of the competition.”
Though the big wave glitterati have been scattered in all directions at the moment, Brooks is confident all will be on hand for the event, the first time it’s run since 2009.
“As far as I know Garrett McNamara is the only one who’ll be sitting this one out,” Brooks said, referencing G Mac’s car crash of belly flop at Mavericks recently.
“Everyone else is good to go.”
He also said the decision to green light this time around, vindicates the decision to hold back on the last swell which saw Quik cop it from all angles.
“We did come close on that last one,” Brooks said.
“As much as everyone else is watching these swells, we’re watching three times as much. We want this to run as much as anyone.”
The 2015/2016 Eddie Invitees:
Aaron Gold, Albee Layer, Bruce Irons, Clyde Aikau, Dave Wassel, Garrett McNamara, Grant Baker, Greg Long, Ian Walsh, Jamie Mitchell, Jamie O’Brien, Jeremy Flores, John John Florence, Kala Alexander, Kelly Slater, Kohl Christensen, Makua Rothman, Mark Healey, Nathan Fletcher, Noah Johnson, Peter Mel, Ramon Navarro, Reef McIntosh, Ross Clarke-Jones, Shane Dorian, Sunny Garcia and Takayuki Wakita
Official Alternates:
Mason Ho (Aikau Pick), Danilo Couto, Mark Matthews, Koa Rothman, Ben Wilkinson, Jamie Sterling, Billy Kemper, Shawn Dollar, Carlos Burle, Kealii Mamala, Gabriel Villaran, Michael Ho, Kai Lenny, Kahea Hart, Nathan Florence, Damien Hobgood, Kalani Chapman, Ryan Hipwood, Danny Fuller, Nic Lamb, Anthony Tashnick, Rusty Long, Derek Dunfee and Brock Little
