Larry, Reno and Eddie, Sunset. Photo: Merkel/A-Frame

When Eddie Aikau was 16 years old he quit school to work in a pineapple cannery. The young Hawaiian had designs on making a living at the beach, but in 1962 lifeguarding wasn’t really a career opportunity and surfing for a profession had yet to be invented. It was a means to an end. over time he picked up work guarding at Waimea Bay, establishing a standard for lifesaving excellence at the world’s most famous big-wave venue. Money also started trickling in from his surfing, and contest winnings started to help supplement the income. In ’66 he began his run of six straight final appearances at the Duke Kahanamoku Classic. He rattled off a number of other notable results before the culmination of his all too brief career, winning the 1977 Duke Kahanamoku Invitational Surfing Championship and beating Mark Richards, Rabbit Bartholomew and Dane Kealoha in the process. Four months later he would be dead. on the night of March 16, 1978, while trying to help rescue the crew of his capsized double-hulled canoe he was lost at sea. In an attempt to sail from Hawaii to Tahiti the boat was caught in high seas a mere five hours off of oahu. Aikau set out to try and muster help on Lanai, paddling into the night on a ten-foot board. After the largest rescue effort in Hawaii state history, he was gone. Aikau became an instant legend. April 1 is now officially Eddie Aikau day in Hawaii, and in 1984 the Quiksilver Big Wave Invitational in Memory of Eddie Aikau first took place at Waimea. – JH