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History of the Quiksilver Big Wave Invitational

The Quiksilver Big Wave Invitational in Memory of Eddie Aikau event director George Downing has made a famous statement: In Downing's words, "The Bay calls the day." That call has been made only six times in the past 17 years. It's as if the ocean itself is determined to keep this event special.

The winners - Clyde Aikau, Keone Downing, Noah Johnson, Ross Clarke-Jones, Kelly Slater and Bruce Irons ? all possess extraordinary skills in the ocean. Each has had a "peak day" at Waimea Bay, when paddling power, fitness, wave selection, surfing equipment, confidence and courage have all come together.

The Quiksilver Big Wave Invitational we know has a forerunner: the Eddie Aikau Memorial, held in 1986 in beautiful 10-foot surf at Sunset Beach and won by local ripper Denton Miyamura. It was a lot of fun, but Quiksilver's Bruce Raymond and Bob McKnight saw a chance to create a true surfing classic. In concert with the Aikau family, today's dramatic, humbling challenge was mounted. Each Hawaiian winter, a select group of invitees ? chosen by polling among big wave experts and riders alike ? would be welcomed to Waimea Bay at the start of a three month waiting period. If the Bay called the day, they would be there.

First off came Clyde's emotional inaugural win. On February 21, 1987, in onshore 20-foot surf, Eddie?s younger brother and favorite surfing buddy took the top prize. Later Clyde would speak of Eddie?s spirit rising to meet him in the lineup in the form of a large turtle, surfacing just before the winning rides.

Three years passed before 25-foot-plus surf and offshore winds provided the awesome canvas for perhaps the ultimate big-wave test of all time. Late January 1990 saw the "Eddie" invitees paddling out to waves that still provide the benchmark for paddling in ? huge gray wave faces, with epic rides in seemingly every heat. Standouts were Brock Little with his Off-The-Wall style tube ride and desperate takeoff attempt on a close-to-30-footer, and Richard Schmidt's "magic carpet" drop, which earned a perfect score. Surf like this takes a cool head, and coolest of all was Makaha's Keone Downing, whose right-on wave selection and positioning won him surfing?s biggest prize ? $50,000 ? on a day that might be equaled yet never surpassed.

Almost a decade passed before the Bay again called the day. In 1995, it sent a little teaser of a message: a massive swell that hit overnight on December 29 and lasted just half the day ? just long enough to hold one of the Eddie?s two competition rounds. As the swell declined, George Downing decided to call a halt and hope for another day in that year?s waiting period. It never came, and the prize money was split between the contestants.

Ironically, in 1998 the surf got too big! Huge El Ni?o storms battered the Islands with surf even Waimea couldn't handle. On January 28, Downing and the invitees watched 30-foot-plus waves for several hours before it became obvious that the Bay?s door was closed.

In 1999 the door opened again, and a new era in big wave riding was celebrated. Noah Johnson, a fearless young Hawaiian Big Island surfer, was at the opposite end of the big surf age spectrum to Clyde and Keone ? when Eddie made the ultimate sacrifice, Noah had been just five years old. Yet on January 1 that year, his stocky frame could be seen racing down the biggest waves of the day, finishing ahead of the greatest names in the sport. To this day Noah remains the only surfer under 30 to win the Eddie.

On January 12, 2001, one man's enduring patience paid off. Australia?s Ross Clarke-Jones had been an invitee to every one of the 14 years honoring Eddie. Long acknowledged as one of the favorites to win, he finally achieved his goal with four excellent rides in clean 20-foot-plus Bay. Never a spiritually inclined man, "RCJ" later said he?d felt an eerie sense of destiny build through the day, and now understood what Clyde Aikau meant when talking of Eddie?s spirit guiding the winner.

Big wild surf returned for January 2002 and the triumph of surfing?s greatest modern competitor, Kelly Slater. Fresh from an overnight dash from Maui, Kelly stepped into surfing?s most dramatic arena and together with his fellow invitees, put on the finest exhibition of big wave paddle-in surfing in recent memory. The scores ? four surfers finished within four points of each other ? reflected it. Victory came as a surprise to Slater, and even the man who?s won six world professional surfing titles found himself overwhelmed by the honor of this award. "Coming from Florida, I never thought I?d be a big wave surfer," he said. "When I think how many good big wave riders there are in the world, and how few get a chance to go in this event?I?m sure I?ll look back on this with pride."

In 2004, there was very little waiting - just nine days into the holding period Contest Director George Downing put competitors on stand-by. It was no false alarm and on December 15, the Eddie was a "go". A thundering 25 to 40-foot swell greeted competitors at dawn, and the two-day advance warning saw Waimea Bay crammed with spectators and photographers before daylight even broke. In front of a record North Shore crowd of an estimated 20,000 people, under clear skies, Kauai's Bruce Irons, aged 25, emerged once and for all out of the shadow of world champion older brother Andy with a brazen performance that will be talked about for years to come. In his first time out at the Bay, in the largest waves of his life, Bruce repeatedly pushed himself over the edge and into the biggest sets of the day - the highlight of which was a perfect 100 point ride that began way outside with a critical take-off on a 35-foot monster. Arcing his way across the Bay, Bruce connected right through to a heaving inside shore-break. As the crowd hooted and hollered, he accelerated into a bone-crushing, close-out tube ride with arms pitched high above his head. It was a moment that will remain etched in the minds of all those fortunate enough to stand witness. "It was greater than I could ever have imagined... every bit as big as it looked in all the videos and pictures I saw growing up. To ride the biggest waves of my life, to win a contest in the name of Eddie Aikau... I just don't know what to say," Irons said.

What lies in store for the 2007-08 winter? All the meteorological predictions cannot foretell when the Bay will call the Day. Just the wait for this event each winter is an honor to its namesake. And the riders know: if the surf comes, they?ll be ready.