Eddie Aikau was a son of the sea. Born on Maui and reared on Oahu, he learned
to surf at age eleven, and by sixteen he had dropped out of school so that he
could pursue his dream of becoming a champion.
He’d work nights at the Dole Pineapple cannery, so he could surf during
the day. And soon he was a professional
surfer as well as a lifeguard at the famous North Shore of Oahu where it was
estimated he saved over 500 lives in the treacherous surf.
A striking figure in his trademark white surf trunks with a
horizontal red stripe and his fire-engine red surfboard, Eddie was known for
riding the biggest waves with his bowlegged stance. Pictures of him surfing 30 foot waves at Waimea graced the cover of LIFE magazine, his
image was used in a nationwide billboard advertising campaign by Bank of
America, and he appeared in three surfing movies.
But surfing was more than a sport for Eddie. It was a connection with his Hawaiian
heritage. And at a time when many had
forgotten the proud traditions of the native Islanders, Eddie was a symbol for
many of what had existed before Hawaii had been colonized. And as he rose in stature, he was also able
to confront many of the racial stereotypes that still existed about the native
Hawaiians.
And when tensions arose between the native Hawaiian surfing
community and the white surfers who came to Oahu to surf from the mainland and
Australia, it was Eddie who served as an intermediary between the two factions,
and led a fellowship that helped launch surfing as an international commercial
sport.
The highlight of Eddie’s surfing career came in 1977 when he
won the prestigious Duke Kahanamoku Invitational in his own home waters of
Oahu.
Wanting a new challenge, and an opportunity to champion his
proud heritage, Eddie trained to be part of a team that sought to reenact the
2,400 mile ancient Polynesian sea voyage from Hawaii to Tahiti in a
double-hulled canoe. Chosen as one of
the Hokule’a crew, Eddie and his fifteen mates set sail on March 16, 1978. But five hours in, the hull spring a leak in
the midst of a terrible winter storm and the boat capsized. All night the crew clung to the hull, and by
10:30 the next morning, with no way to communicate with shore, and blown
outside the shipping lanes, Eddie volunteered to go for help. On a ten-foot surfboard, 12 miles east of
Lanai, Eddie paddled off. One more time
into the big surf.
Later that day the crew was miraculously saved after their
last flare was seen by a commercial plane.
And for a week the Coast guard and many private boats searched for
Eddie, but his body was never recovered.
This champion surfer---this champion human being---had
paddled into eternity.
Eddie Aikau is a hero
you should know. And I’m Dr. Ross
Porter.
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