We caught up with Mark Healey a couple days after this shot was taken, and with a straight face, he described how he was shooting for the barrel, and would have made it had it not been for a slight lump in the face. He also said that perhaps he should have been riding a thruster as opposed to a quad because three fins bite into the wave face more while quads tend to skip. Either way, dude is nuts! Photo: Bielmann/SPL
Kelly Slater’s speed crouch. One can only wonder how a guy from Florida became one of the best big wave riders ever…Photo: Bielmann/SPL
The cool thing about this photo—besides Kohl Christensen’s crazy air drop that he stuck—is that our photographer, Brian Bielmann, had to take a pee and asked his teenage son, Jessie, to man the lens. Suffice to say he nailed it…nice shot grom and way to cover for your old man! Photo: Jessie Bielmann
Not sure where Healey was going with this, but Ross Clarke Jones is headed in the right direction. Photo: Nelly/SPL
Always a standout in huge surf; Shane Dorian tames an absolute beast of a wave. Photo: Brian Bielmann/SPL
60-year old (that’s not a typo either) Clyde Aikau on the left and Garrett “Big Mac” McNamara on the losing side of a Waimea Bay set wave. Photo: Jones
From left: Jamie O’Brien, Grant “Twiggy” Baker, and Kala Alexander all backdoor the peak in one committed effort to make the impossible possible. Photo: Jones
Steep and deep with one of California’s best big wave riders; Peter Mel from Santa Cruz. Photo: Nelly/SPL
Kelly Slater pulls into what he later called, “the biggest barrel of my life”. Having taken off deeper than Slater, Reef McIntosh had a great view of it. Photo: Nelly/SPL
No takers on the left? Where’s Marvin Foster or Mark Healey when you need them? Photo: Stafford/SPL
Count me as one of those who woke up on Tuesday, December 8th and said, “They blew it by not running the Eddie yesterday!” However, I was dead wrong and Quiksilver In Memory Of Eddie Aikau contest director George Downing is deserving of a huge pat on the back…and for schmucks like me to never question his call. Photo: Stafford/SPL
Bodysurf anyone? Photo: Nelly/SPL
Peter Mel at the top of a Waimea mountain. Photo: Noyle/SPL
To hear Mark Healey talk about this wave and other rides he had during the Eddie go to Cote’s Cube With Mark Healey. Photo: Noyle/SPL
2004 Quiksilver In Memory Of Eddie Aikau champion Bruce Irons evades the lip…Keone Downing (who also won the Eddie years ago) wasn’t so lucky. Photo: Noyle/SPL
Knowing Garrett “Big Mac” McNamara, he’d scoff at calling this a 20-footer. Photo: Noyle/SPL
Makua Rothman outruns the avalanche at Waimea. Photo: Noyle/SPL
Ross Clarke Jones midway through the ride of a lifetime at Waimea Bay during the 25th anniversary of the Quiksilver In Memory Of Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational. Photo: Noyle/SPL
Wanna win a Quiksilver In Memory Of Eddie contest poster signed by 22 of the invited surfers? It’s easy, just tell us this: We all know Eddie would go, but to what lengths would you go to save others? Let us know in the comment box below, we’ll pick a winner in early January and contact you via email.
TAGS: Bruce Irons, Clyde Aikau, full page, Garrett "Big Mac" McNamara, Grant "Twiggy" Baker, jamie obrien, kala alexander, Kelly Slater, Kohl Christensen, Mark Healey, Peter Mel, Quiksilver, Quiksilver In Memory Of Eddie Aikau, Ross Clarke Jones, Shane Dorian, The Eddie, Waimea Bay
