By the early hours of Sunday morning on the North Shore, thousands had already lined the cliffs at Waimea Bay in anticipation of the Eddie Aikau contest, but once the sun rose there were initially murmurings of disappointment; the swell was underwhelming. However, as soon as the first heat started the lines filled in, ‘The Bay called the day’ and the surfers pushed it to the limit. Impossible drops, triple wipeouts in a single wave and gauntlet runs into the atomic shorebreak were all part of the action. The 10 women in the field took-on some of the heaviest waves of the day, including new mum Justine Dupont.
In a similar vein to last year, when lifeguard Luke Shepardson took top honours, the contest was won by a part time surfer. Landon McNamara balances his big wave pursuits with his career as a musician. It seems likely his profile as a performer will get a kick along, after his win in The Eddie, surfing’s most prestigious big wave event.
In the second last heat of the day, Landon took off way up the point on a lurching Waimea sky-tickler, fell out the sky and somehow knifed the drop before he was engulfed by the white water. The commentary team put it best; “the entire ocean landed on his shoulders, and he still came out successful”. The wave earned him a perfect 50/50 score, which he backed up with a number of other impressive rides to take the win over Mason Ho and Billy Kemper in second and third respectively.
From the Australian contingent, big Ben Wilkinson was certainly one of the most entertaining, paddling out with the explicit intention of hitting the lip. The attempt earned him a trip to the cement-mixer shorey, where his 100kg-plus frame was eventually rolled up the beach like a loose pebble.
There was a host of other heroic performances throughout the day and below we’ll take a look at some of the standout moments.
Heroes of the day
Shorebreak senders: Waimea’s famous shorebreak was in full force throughout the contest and a number of surfers were willing to take on the heaving shallow sandbar in order to try and get a few extra points on the leaderboard. Billy Kemper, Zeke Lau and Kauli Vaast were among those who had the cojones to pull into the shorebreak, but one of the best rides was Nathan Florence who, on the final wave of the event, stood tall with his hands in the air as the lip engulfed him. It was a fitting finish to a day where the limits of what’s possible at Waimea were once again pushed.
Water patrol: When Waimea turns XXL, a number of sets can completely close out the entire bay and it’s no easy feat having to run water safety when the lineup resembles something of an avalanche. But time and again, the Hawaiian water patrol proved why they’re some of the best in the business, picking up surfers from the impact zone and ensuring everything runs smoothly.
Biggest ‘OMG’ moment of the day
This belongs to two particular rides. The first being Mason Ho’s shorebreak send where, as he came into shore, he was met with a few feet of backwash coming towards him which sent him flying in the air, all in the name of entertainment. The second ‘OMG’ ride went to Chad Keaulana who miscalculated his shorebreak ride and was forced to jump off at the top of the lip before 20 feet of white wash exploded over him. Given the amount of crazy wipeouts throughout the day, it was so surprising to see no major injuries.
Winners of the day
Landon McNamara – obviously
Spectators: From the heart in mouth elevator drops out the back to the crazy shorebreak rides, if there was ever a day to watch live surfing, today was the day.
The sport of surfing: Every year it runs, the Eddie Aikau contest continues to prove why it is one of the most prestigious events in surfing. The world’s best push the boundaries in waves of consequence all while sharing the Hawaiian ‘ohana’ spirit.
Honourable mentions
The Women: Throughout 2024 women’s surfing has continued to elevate itself to new levels of performance, mainly in the air and through big barrel riding. The women competing in the Eddie Aikau showed they’re a force to be reckoned with in the big stuff and there was a number of standout rides from the like of Flick Palmateer, Anne Dos Santos and others.
And just like that, The Eddie came and passed for another year. With Rip Curl making a bold, power-move to back an event that has traditionally been synonymous with Quiksilver, the contest enters a new era. Here’s hoping The Eddie will Go next year.
