Greg Long Takes 8th Eddie

With some beastly sets approaching 30 feet, rising American star Greg Long took top honours after his vertical freefall down a huge face towards the end of the finals that pushed him past Mr Consistent Kelly Slater who was cruising towards the win throughout the event.

Contest Director George Downing made a big call that turned out correct as waves pumped from the North all day. Greg, who has been a standout at Red Bull Big Wave Africa at Dungeons over the last few years, scored perfect points on the last wave.

"I'm humbled just to be in this event," Long said.

Waimea cranked all day with a pulse that featured even bigger sets towards the end of the day. There was carnage in some heats as the 28 surfers grappled with some heavy drops and hard nosed wave action.

South African Grant Twiggy Baker came a credible 15th after struggling in his first heat.

Today's one-day event marks is only the eighth time the Eddie has run in 25 years. Slater, with nine ASP world titles under his belt, last won Eddie in 2002. Bruce Irons, who finished fourth Tuesday, was the defending champion after winning in 2004, the last time it ran.

Sunny Garcia came third.

From the Quiksilver site MONDAY December 7, 2009

Contestants of the Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau, fueled by Monster Energy, were calling the waves at Waimea Bay today bigger than any contested the past three times this event ran. But organizers opted to employ patience and wait for tomorrow as surface conditions are forecast to improve with wave size continuing in the giant range. Wave face heights were in the 25- to 40-foot range today and rising. It made for a dramatic warm-up that thousands flocked to the North Shore of Oahu to witness.

The single lane highway that runs the stretch of the North Shore was bumper-to-bumper by sunrise. Many made the pilgrimage on foot and bicycle late last night, sleeping under the stars to catch the action early.

The invitees to the Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau weren't far behind them and headed out at dawn into the salt-spray, mist-filled lineup in search of the "big one".

"Waimea is something special," said contest director George Downing. "You've got to have the right ingredients. You've got to wait until the puzzle of Waimea comes together. You're sending the top notch big wave riders out there and they're all hungry. They all want to catch that wave."

Two-time world champion surfer Tom Carroll, one of the most famous entries to the event, was also its first casualty today. As he dropped into a wave, the full power of the lip crashed down, compressing him and tearing apart his ankle. He left the beach in an ambulance and was bitterly disappointed he will not be surfing again this year.

"I took a wave, it wasn't that big a wave, just a real freaky accident"," says Carroll, 48,The whole load of whitewater hit me all at once right at the bottom of the wave. My ankle separated from my tibia and fibula, so it was just flopping. I'm hoping there's no break in there. I was comfortable out there. There's some big waves coming through, but I was comfortable. It's a real bummer. I was just really ready to go for the Eddie."

Mark Healey is one of Hawaii's most successful big wave riders. He thrilled the crowd with a huge ride to shore than ended when he was swallowed up by a 15 foot shorebreak.

Shane Dorian yesterday during the warmup day in grey weathery conditions.