05/30/2024
🌟 Today’s Spotlight: Eddie Aikau
🌊Eddie Aikau, the first lifeguard at Waimea Bay on the island of O‘ahu in Hawai‘i, dedicated his life to aiding others and saved more than 500 lives. The third of six children, Aikau embraced surfing early, starting with the traditional wooden board known as a pae po‘o (today commonly referred to as paipo), then transitioning to foam and resin surfboards. By age 17, he was among Hawai‘i’s top surfers, renowned for fearlessly riding the most formidable waves.
Aikau’s achievements include winning the 1977 “The Duke” Invitational Surfing Championship, named for surfing legend Duke Kahanamoku. Aikau was also among the original crew of the Hōkūle‘a, a traditional double-hulled canoe, which sailed from Hawai‘i to Tahiti in 1976, guided by ancestral navigation techniques. Tragically, during a subsequent voyage in 1978, the Hōkūle‘a capsized, prompting Aikau to set out on his surfboard for help; but he never made it to shore. Despite an extensive air-sea search—the largest in Hawaiian history—his body was never found. In his honor, a surf competition called “The Eddie” was established in 1984.
