Eddie Goes Large!
Friday 26 February 2016 If you had stayed up to watch from South Africa, it was worth the wait as John John Florence won the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau in savage conditions at heaving Waimea, writes Spike.
STICKY SITUATION: Twiggy's wipeout drew gasps of horror as he free-fell forever. Photo WSL / Heff
It was brutal. It was giant. It was the Brock Swell, filled with spirit and aloha, but with his karma, you also get carnage. His spectre was in the mist of the spray from each 60 foot high explosion that swatted the pestilent lineup of A personalities.
The buoy at Waimea measured 20 feet at 18 seconds, but the surf was bigger ... way bigger. It was a miracle no-one was hurt. Mason Ho may beg to differ. He survived a snotklap by Neptune. He must have been guarded by the omniscient presence of Eddie Aikau, the original life-saver at Waimea Bay, who never lost a soul there. That was not about to change.
{youtube}JgZPhzSy-I4{/youtube}
During his first heat, Twiggy went BASE jumping on a beast of a thing that drew gasps of horror from the beach. That will go down as one of the most legendary wipeouts ever seen at the bay. That was the Eddie this year. Everyone was charging so hard you had to question their mental stability. It was perhaps the most competitive Eddie ever, simply because of how good the best big wave riders are these days.
Twiggy's wipeout on an unmakeable wave had everyone fearing for his recently injured back. But Twig was back in his second heat to post a huge 80 score, which pushed him to 9th overall, one slot ahead of the completely insane Jamie O'Brien. JOB went mental on some of the biggest waves of the day.
TWO TO TANGO: Jamie O'Brien and Shane Dorian on a little ankle snapper. Photo WSL / Heff
But so did others. Kelly Slater paid a unique, but fitting, tribute to his mentor and friend Brock Little by backdooring the boil on an 18 footer to stall mid-way down. Slater got slotted from head to toe - the only proper barrel of the day.
Other standouts were JOB, John John, both Rothmans, Shane Dorian, Jamie Mitchell, and Ross Clark-Jones. The burly Aussie was supreme in his domination all the way the way through ... until he hit a snag in the form of John John. Clark-Jones won the event 15 years before, and it looked like he was going to do it again.
The event dispensed with the usual chronological progression to a final, where scores in that heat determine the winner. Each surfer got two cracks. Their total score was tallied from the top four rides in both heats surfed, each ride judged from 100 points.
FAIR DINKUM: Aussies Ross Clark-Jones and Jamie Mitchel get their Hawaiian visa. Photo WSL / Heff
The 50-year-old Aussie scooped a 71 and a 67 in his first heat. In Round 2, in the last seconds of his second heat, he bagged the highest score of the event, a 94 and a modest 44 to put him back at the top after Dorian had pulled off a couple of ridiculous rides - 93 and 78 - to take the lead.
But John John was majestic. He quietly went about his business, with the commentators earlier warning that JJ's casual fearless style and career trajectory were ready for something big, and big it was for the young Hawaiian. In the final round, he needed huge scores to out-muscle Clarke-Jones. A steep drop in the foam that ended in a clean exit earned an 89. His second score was a 88. Bang!
Now he had to watch the last heat of the day featuring Rothman, Ian Walsh, Peter Mel, and Nathan Fletcher. White knuckle time. Rothman could have done it, but time ran out. John John won.
NINTH WINNER: John John wins at Waimea before Pipeline? Go figure! Photo WSL / Heff
"It seems fitting that John John Florence, who many are already arguing is the best surfer on the planet, bleeds the type of humility Eddie Aikau would be extremely proud of. It's also fitting that he seems to have all the bravery of Brock. All in all, it was a great day for Hawaii," said the WSL.
Clyde Aikau, at 66 the oldest in the event after Tom Caroll (54), took a bad wipeout on his first wave of his last Eddie. The former champion was escorted out the washing machine, but calmly jumped off the sled to paddle back out. Old school. The former champion drew huge cheers as he rode out a few more with aplomb. The spirit of his boet looked on.
"Brock Little would have absolutely loved this. The epic drops, the brutal carnage, the rowdy crowd, and the big-wave brotherhood gathering at Waimea Bay for just the ninth running of The Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau, the same sacred event that made him famous," the WSL continued.
TWO TO TANGO: John John (right) and Mason Ho on a little ankle snapper. Photo WSL / Heff
"Standout rides were voluminous. Jamie O'Brien and Mason Ho both caught waves that looked strikingly similar to Brock Little's famous 1990 bomb. Goofyfooters Mark Healey, Kohl Christensen, Danilo Couto and Koa Rothman stayed busy making stunning drops with their backs against the wall. Makuakai Rothman got tangled up in one of the worst wipeouts of the day, as he and Kala Alexander collided on takeoff and tumbled down the face."
Results
1 John John Florence
2 Ross Clarke-Jones
3 Shane Dorian
4 Jamie Mitchell
5 Kelly Slater
6 Makuakai Rothman
7 Dave Wassel
8 Mason Ho
9 Grant Baker
10 Jamie O'Brien