Weekly Swell Update For The Quiksilver In Memory Of Eddie Aikau

Justin Cote

• December 24 2008
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2008 Invitees Discuss Board Choices in this Week’s Waimea Weekly Update Webisodes with Mark Healey

(Huntington Beach, California) December 24, 2008 — Invitees and Alternates for The Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau expect another quiet week on the North Pacific horizon. The jetstream has pulled north, taking the swell-generating systems with it. As a result, the North Shore of Oahu anticipates mostly small surf this week with a bump to around six-feet (Hawaiian scale) mid-week.

As December draws to a close, conditions start to look more promising for a return to typical larger winter wave heights. Statistically the biggest surf arrives through January and February, allowing still plenty of opportunity remaining in the event’s holding period window.

In this week’s Waimea Weekly Update, Quiksilver team-rider and 2008 Invitee Mark Healey interviews a handful of Invitees including Kelly Slater, Peter Mel, Tom Carroll, Bruce Irons as well as veteran Eddie Invitees Brock Little, Titus Kinimaka and Keone Downing as they discuss what boards they will be surfing when the event goes. Big-wave guns, like the ones that will be surfed at Waimea, can range from 9-foot to over 11 feet in length and vary in dimensions and fin set-up. 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.

About Quiksilver
“Quiksilver is committed to providing tools for uncovering, expressing and expanding your personal style. Our aim is to foster the sense of individual expression and excitement - the stoke that is the essence of boardriding*. We’re also here to spread the word because the only thing better than finding stoke is sharing it.

* Boardriding is about timing and style. It’s youthful, active, casual, and free flowing. There is no wrong way to ride a board. The goal is simply to learn, progress, improve, and give it your own interpretation.”