Eddie Aikau

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Edward "Eddie" Ryon Makuahanai Aikau (born May 4, 1946 , Kahului , Hawaii , † March 17, 1978 at sea) was a Hawaiian lifeguard and surfer . As the first lifeguard from Waimea Bay on the island of Oahu , he saved the lives of more than five hundred people and earned a reputation for “surfing the big Hawaiian surf”. He won several competitions; including the Duke Kahanamoku Invitational Surfing Championship 1977.

Surname

Makua Hanai in Eddie Aikau's full name means "nourishing (feeding) parent", meaning adoptive or foster parent.

Life

Memorial plaque on the Hokule'a

Eddie Aikau was born in Kahului, Hawaii, the third child of Solomon and Henrietta Aikau. He was a descendant of Hewahewa , the Kahuna nui (priest) of King Kamehameha I and his successor Kamehameha II. Aikau had his first experience of surfing in the surf of Kahului Harbor . He and his family moved in 1959 to O'ahu and at age 16 he left school and started in the Dole Pineapple Cannery ( pineapple cannery ) to work; with the first salary he bought his first surfboard. In 1968 he took over the first lifeguard post for the City & County of Honolulu on the north coast. The job description stipulated that Aikau should look after all the beaches between Pūpūkea (Sunset) and Haleiwa . Not a life was lost while working as a lifeguard in Waimea Bay, as he was not afraid of waves as high as 10 m (30 ft) or more. In 1971 Aikau was named "Lifeguard of the Year".

Lost

In 1978 the Polynesian Voyaging Society carried out another research trip on an ancient Polynesian migration route between the islands of Hawai'i and the islands of Tahitis . The Society was looking for volunteers for the thirty-day, 2500- mile (4000 km) journey and Aikau signed on as a crew member. The research vessel Hōkūleʻa left the Hawaiian Islands on March 16, 1978. The double-hulled canoe struck a leak in one of the hulls and capsized about twelve miles south of the island of Molokaʻi . Aikau tried to get help and paddled his surfboard towards Lānaʻi . The rest of the crew were later rescued by the United States Coast Guard's cutter Cape Corwin , but Aikau was never seen again. He had taken off his life jacket as it was preventing him from paddling. The search that followed was the greatest aerial search in Hawaiian history.

Memorial surfing invitational

In honor of Aikau, the surf clothing company Quiksilver sponsored the invitation competition "The Eddie" in Waimea Bay for 30 years until 2016.

Since the first edition at Sunset Beach in 1985, Eddie Aikau's younger brother Clyde Aikau won the competition once when the "Eddie" was held for the first time in Waimea Bay. The competition, however, only took place nine times, due to the precondition that the swell in the sea should be at least 20 ft (6 m), which triggers a wave height of 10 m (30 ft). In February 2016, the waves reached 30 to 50 ft (15 m). Only 28 big-wave surfers are invited to two rounds of the competition. It is not permitted to pull surfers into the wave with jet skis ( tow-in surfing ).

In popular culture

In the 1980s, stickers and T-shirts with the slogan "Eddie Would Go" spread, first in the Hawaiian Islands and from there around the world. The naval historian Mac Simpson writes:

"" Aikau was a legend on the North Shore, pulling people out of waves that no one else would dare to. That's where the saying came from - Eddie would go, when no one else would or could. Only Eddie dared. ""

The slogan was created during the first "Eddie Contest". The waves were high and the conditions extremely dangerous. While the organizers discussed whether the competition could take place, surfer Mark Foo commented "Eddie would go". The phrase stayed and "Eddie" ran.

Another variant is "Eddie wouldn't tow". This refers to the habit of some big wave surfers to pull one another into a big wave with jet skis. The phrase denounces the "unnaturalness" of so-called "tow-in surfing"; many surfers consider towing to be unsporting.

Other variants

  • "Eddie would throw" - for the pass attack of the University of Hawaii ( Colt Brennan and Timmy Chang under coach June Jones )
  • "Eddie wouldn't crow" - against show-offs and egoists
  • "Eddie would hoe" - in support of the "Native Hawaiian Agricultural Outreach Program"
  • “Eddie would ride” as the advertising slogan for the election campaign for “Honolulu rail transit”.

Music and television

The band Full Service from Austin , Texas recorded a song about Eddie Aikau on entitled "In A Rescue" on the album "Recess" from 2006. Sam George , a former professional surfer, designed a 30 for 30 documentation about Aikau entitled Hawaiian: The Legend of Eddie Aikau . It premiered on ESPN on October 1, 2013. Also in the comedy series Drunk History of Kurt Braun Ohler the story was picked up in a series that dealt with Hawaiian folklore (12 August 2014).

See also

literature

  • Stuart Coleman: Eddie Would Go: The Story of Eddie Aikau, Hawaiian Hero and Pioneer of Big Wave Surfing, MindRaising Press, 2003. Biography of Eddie Aikau.
  • Stuart Coleman: Eddie Aikau: Hawaiian Hero, Bess Press, 2016.
  • Sergio Goes: Eddie Would Go: The Story of Eddie Aikau, Hawaiian Hero [Film]

Web links

Commons : Eddie Aikau  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Paul Wood: Hanai Tales. In: Hana Hou! Vol. 10, No. 4, 2007. "Funny how it is with hanai. Nearly everybody in Hawai'i understands the term to some extent. Most everyone knows somebody who was "hanaied". And yet little has been written about this traditional Hawaiian childrearing option ... "
  2. ^ A b Stuart Holmes Coleman: Eddie Would Go: The Story of Eddie Aikau, Hawaiian Hero and Pioneer of Big Wave Surfing . New York : St. Martin's Griffin 2004. ISBN 0-312-32718-8 .
  3. ↑ Mary Kawena Pukui : Excerpt: Definition of "Hānai". In: Nana I Ke Kumu (Look to the Source), 1972.
  4. ^ Stuart Holmes Coleman: Eddie Would Go: The Story of Eddie Aikau, Hawaiian Hero and Pioneer of Big Wave Surfing. St. Martin's Press, New York 2004: 164. ISBN 978-0-312-32718-7
  5. ^ Coleman, 2001: 90-91.
  6. ^ Dan Cisco: Eddie would go. University of Hawaii Press 1999. ISBN 0-8248-2121-1
  7. ↑ Hawaiian senate - Eddie Aikau Honored in the Senate.
  8. ↑ a b Burl Burlingame: Eddie: Riding on the crest of a myth. Honolulu Star Bulletin 1998-03-06.
  9. ↑ Craig Hysell: It Could Be Worse: Eddie Aikau , Celebrate Hilton Head website
  10. ^ The 2009/2010 Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau – History. ( Memento of December 7, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  11. ↑ Clyde Aikau and the State of the Eddie - A feature interview. ( Memento of the original from December 13, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 2009-02-11.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.dailystoke.com
  12. ↑ Quiksilver - Big Wave Invitational 06/07 ( Memento of February 10, 2007 in the Internet Archive ).
  13. ↑ Eddie would go: the big waves of Eddie Aikau , The Roar.com.
  14. ^ Stuart H. Coleman: Waterman: Brian Keaulana and the Rise of Ocean Safety. In: Spirit of Aloha [1] (Aloha Airlines) 2005-07-01
personal data
SURNAME Aikau, Eddie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Edward Ryon Makuahanai Aikau (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Hawaiian surfer and lifeguard
DATE OF BIRTH May 4, 1946
PLACE OF BIRTH Kahului , Hawaii
DATE OF DEATH March 17, 1978
Place of death at sea