Highlights: Ruination beer and Cajun fish taco at Leilani’s (wow! to both), turtle nestled on our beach at sunset, and being in Hawaii during the big wave surfing competition on Oahu’s north shore. It’s held in memory of Eddie Aikau, and it’s only the 9th competition in 32 years, as it can only be held when the waves are at least 30 feet. Today’s waves were the largest ever. If you’re interested, “Eddie Would Go” is a great book. But here is a little background on him from the internet.

Eddie Aikau was the first official lifeguard at Waimea Bay, on Oahu’s North Shore, and at the same time developed a reputation as one of the best big wave riders in the world. With his younger brother and lifeguard Clyde, the pair never lost a life on their watch. Eddie surfed every major swell to come through the North Shore from 1967 to 1978. He attained a rank of 12th in the world on the early IPS pro surfing rankings.

In 1978, Aikau was selected to join the cultural expedition of the Polynesian voyaging canoe Hokule’a, which set sail from Oahu, bound for Tahiti. However that same night, the Hokule’a encountered treacherous seas and the canoe capsized. After a wild night adrift, Aikau set off on his paddleboard to get help; he was never seen again. The ensuing search for him was the largest air-sea search in Hawaiian history.