For Waimea Bay: An energetic Pacific Ocean will gradually peter out this week as swells diminish below 10 feet for approximately the next week and a half. A series of small to moderate swells will keep the North Shore active, but nothing on the large size is expected in the coming 10 days. The jet stream has migrated north, keeping winter storm systems further from Hawaiian shorelines, and therefore keeping the large swells at a distance. There are five weeks remaining in The Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau holding period.
In this week’s Mark Healey Waimea Weekly Update, Mark is joined by North Shore Lifeguard and 1999 event champion Noah Johnson for the swell update. Mark also interviews archaeologist Joe Kennedy and Kahu (Hawaiian priest) Butch Helemano to talk about the history and significance of Waimea Bay. “If Hawaii has a spiritual place, Waimea is it,” says Kennedy. To see the full webisode, viewers can tune-in at www.quiksilver.com/eddie.
These video clips along with other videos from The Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau are available for syndication through Splashcast; videos can be embedded to blogs, social networking sites and more. Make your way to http://web.splashcast.net/web_watch/?code=HXBN3705OC.
Special thanks to Pat Caldwell from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for the swell data and forecasts. Current conditions and surf report for Waimea Bay, provided by Surfline, is available on the event website www.quiksilver.com/eddie. Visitors can also sign up for the official text alert for when the Bay Calls the Day.
About The Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau
Scheduled to take place at the hallowed grounds of Waimea Bay, on the North Shore of Oahu, between November 30, 2008, and February 28, 2009, The Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau, requires one day with a minimum of 20-foot surf (Hawaiian scale, translating to waves exceeding 40 feet faces) in order to run. It is the world’s most prestigious big-wave surfing event and is the only big-wave surf contest sanctioned by the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP), the governing body of professional surfing.
Held in honor of the legendary Hawaiian waterman, Eddie Aikau, The Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau gathers 28 of the most skillful and dynamic big-wave surfers from around the world as polled by a comprehensive panel consisting of influential watermen, members of the surf industry, and internationally recognized surfing Associations.
The first memorial event for Aikau was held in 1984 at Sunset Beach, two miles north of Waimea Bay. It was won by local standout Denton Miyamura. Following the inaugural event, The Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau moved to Waimea Bay, where it has remained ever since. 2008 marks the event’s 24th anniversary; in only seven of those years have the waves been big enough and the conditions right to hold the contest.
