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Weekend Reflections 12.11.09

James, over at Newton Area Photo
hosts a fun meme called Weekend Reflections.
Grab a camera and play along.
And even if you don’t join us,
be sure to check out James’ dazzling photos.

Making Waves

Waves!

I took this photo at Waimea Beach the day before the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational. The Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikua Competition is held only when waves top 20 feet in Waimea Bay. This past Tuesday was only the 8th time the contest has been offered since the first one in 1984.

Eddie Aikau was one of Hawaii’s best surfers, swimmers, life guards and citizens. He was lost at sea in March of 1978 when the double-hulled voyaging canoe on which he was a crew member began sinking. Eddie left the boat to paddle to Lanai for help. The other crew members were later rescued by the Coast Guard. Eddie Aikau never made it to the island of Lanai and his body was never recovered.

(I have deliberately been very brief with Eddie’s Biography. Look it up and read it for yourself. It’s worth the time & effort.)

31 Comments

    1. Thom — the bay is where the waves are. The calm is the canal — and seconds after I snapped this shot it wasn’t quite as placid.

  1. Beautiful! My first thought was “wow what an amazing place to live” and then I remembered the 50-foot waves… hmmm, maybe not. LOL

    R.I.P. Eddie. What a life, lived in so short a time.

    1. Susan — yeah, but if you lived there when the waves came (every 5-6 years) they’d throughly clean your living room!

      And after reading Eddie Aikau’s biography my heart ached for weeks — still does when I think about it. What an incredible man. There is a bumper sticker here the surfers paste on their cars. It reads, “Eddie would go.”

    1. QS — more remarkable still, I took this from a rolling car while I was driving. Don’t tell anybody though — especially Amoeba!

    1. Melli — the wind really wasn’t too bad. There was gallons of salt spray suspended in the air though. I was completely covered in salt even though the closest I got to the water was about 10 feet.

    1. John — if one is in a safe place, seeing the waves is awesome. If one is not in a safe place …. 😉 Nature is incredible!

  2. A very moving, sad story. What an incredible man he must have been. No wonder they honor him so. A fabulous photo, Quilly. I bet you will miss living in Hawaii. The worst time to be moving to the mainland is winter… unless going to the southern states. Moving from Hawaii into the dead of a cold, snowy winter doesn’t sound fun to me, though guess some people love the cold & snow. :o)

  3. that looks like a lot of moving water, and the contrast with the calm reflecting surface is stunning. great shot,whichever way you took it 😉

  4. My daughter should return today sometime after a week in Hawaii for a friend’s wedding. Cannot wait to see her photos.

    The difference between the two waters in your shot is breath-taking. Let me guess: not many reflections on the ocean-side of the peninsula.

  5. Wow, love the contrast between the waves and the still water. Beautiful shot of nature’s wonder.

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