As Reverend Kitty continues her series on “Conscious choices in uncertain times”, I thought I’d tell you about a man who continuously chose to put people’s needs and well-being before his own. A man who rushed in to challenge mother nature at her most dangerous times when everyone else was rushing out.
Wherever you go on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, whether you’re passing a bumper sticker along Pali Highway or grabbing breakfast from Rainbow Drive Inn you’ll hear his name and see the phrase “Eddie would go.”
Synonymous with surfing and Hawaii, as well as bravery and honor, Hawaiian waterman Edward Ryon Makuahanai Aikau lived a life on the water as a skilled lifeguard and surfer. In 1967, Eddie surfed a giant swell at Waimea Bay and made his mark in the world of big wave riding. To this very day, November 19, 1967, remains the biggest wave ever surfed at Waimea Bay.
In 1968 Aikau was able to put his love for the water to work, becoming the first lifeguard hired by the City & County of Honolulu to work at Waimea Bay on Oahu. In this position, he had the seemingly insurmountable job of patrolling the waters from Sunset beach to Haleiwa. Over 7 miles of big surf breaks, but despite this vast area of responsibility not a single life was ever lost while he was on watch. As a result, just three years later, he was honored as Lifeguard of the Year.
Eddie and his brother Clyde worked together patrolling the shores for ten years until 1978 and never lost one person. At the time, there were no jet skis or zodiacs – just two youngsters with a board and swim fins. During his career as a lifeguard at Waimea Bay, Eddie Aikau managed to rescue and save the lives of over 500 people.
In 1978 Aikau volunteered as a member of the Polynesian Voyaging Society’s crew as the group attempted to replicate a previous 1976 journey to Tahiti. Through the Hokulea, an authentic replica of ancient Polynesian canoes, the Polynesian Voyaging Society hoped to inspire a renaissance of Polynesian voyaging techniques and revitalize the Hawaiian and Polynesian cultures through seafaring without any modern technology.
Shortly after pushing off from Magic Island for the 2,500-mile voyage, the double-hulled canoe, Hokulea, capsized off of Molokai. After hours of hanging onto the boat hoping to be rescued, Aikau insisted on paddling off towards Lanai on his surfboard to get help. Hours later a plane saw the boat’s flares and the Hokulea crew was rescued that same day by the US Coast Guard. What was the largest air-sea search in Hawaii’s history was launched, but Aikau was never heard from or seen again.
“Eddie would go.”
Most tourists understand it to mean that Eddie was brave – that he would tackle waves no other person would. However, it actually refers to Eddie, the lifeguard, facing grave danger in order to paddle out to save the lives of hundreds of others caught in the treacherous North Shore surf.
In honor of Eddie Aikau a plaque was permanently placed on the Hōkūle’a that says, ’No greater love has a man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.’
