Big waves and big-wave surfers put on ‘wild’ show for ‘Eddie spectators
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Meredith Makainani and her husband got to the North Shore on Saturday — a day before “The Eddie” — just to make sure they could secure a spot at the big-wave surf contest.
They weren’t alone.
Tens of thousands of spectators flocked to Waimea Bay on Sunday to see the world’s best big-wave surfers (both kane and wahine) take on monster waves — some topping 50 feet.
“We made it thank goodness, with maybe like two hours of sleep,” said Makainani, who spent the night in her car with her husband and walked over to Waimea Bay when the gates opened at 4 a.m.
Special Section: ‘The Eddie’
“There were cars lined up everywhere. It was wild.”
Well before daybreak, cars were parked along Kamehameha Highway, stretching all the way down to Haleiwa. Hundreds biked or bused to the bay to avoid traffic.
People like Israel Rodriguez even flew in for “The Eddie.”
He came in from Washington state on Saturday.
“I’ve been coming to Hawaii for the last 26 years, and I’ve missed ‘The Eddie’ every time — so this time we got here yesterday, and here we are,” he said.
Honolulu Ocean Safety says the swells exceeded their expectations, and there were some close calls.
“We’ve had someone wave washing to the barriers knock some people down. We’ve had a few close calls,” said Kerry Atwood, of Honolulu Ocean Safety.
“But luckily we were able to get people back behind the barriers safely.”
This is only the 10th “Eddie” to take place in the 39-year history of the event.
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