Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Steve Pike
BLEARY- EYED brethren who stayed up last night were rewarded with an intense big wave experience.
John John Florence won the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau, becoming the youngest to do so, aged 23. But everyone won that day, including the live stream viewers. We were enriched by a gladiatorial spectacle that will take something special to top.
The swell that hammered Waimea Bay was brutal – the “best” conditions Eddie’s brother Clyde had ever seen. And he should know. At 66 years old, he is a former winner, and was surfing in his final event.
The buoy at Waimea measured 20 feet at 18 seconds, but some wave faces were up to three times that height, and at the limit of what a sane person would call safe.
It was a miracle no one was hurt. Let me rephrase that: it was a miracle no one died. What happened to the likes of Mason Ho and Twiggy Baker must have hurt like hell. I am sure Makuakai Rothman’s collision with Kai Alexander as they took off on a biggy must have brought some pain.
These four were among many who got on the wrong side of the ocean’s wrath, though the latter two got on the wrong way of each other. Eina!
They survived a serious snotklap by the salty sea god surfers call the Great Kahuna. Twiggy free- fell about three storeys down a wave, drawing gasps of horror as his stick-like figure dropped like a stone.
He hit the water in an explosion of spray and disappeared. The wave then sucked him over the falls for a repeat cycle in the cosmic washer.
As for Mason Ho, haai! That was horrific! They titled the video Mason Ho Cheats Death. That’s not far wrong. On a gigantic wave, he almost makes a neverending drop, only to be bounced by a mogul that propels him forward, and the avalanche owns him. Proper.
He vanished for several worrying minutes. Giant waves hampered rescue efforts.
Perhaps the surfers, a close brotherhood with strong Hawaiian roots, felt the omniscient presence of Eddie Aikau, the original lifesaver at Waimea Bay. He never lost a soul under his watch, and despite some heart- stopping moments, that was not about to change.
The waves were breaking with the severity, and ridden with the raw emotion, that Brock Little would have appreciated. The spirit of the legendary waterman, who died last week, soared into the cosmos as the storm that created this swell stirred in the Northern Pacific.
Perhaps his departing soul kickstarted the “cyclo-genesis” that monstered that whirling vortex into being.
His spectre was in the mist of the spray from each 60-foot slap that swatted the pestilent clump of top personalities in the lineup.
Respect is due. The blatant disregard for personal safety was something to behold. Burly Aussie Ross Clark-Jones, who is almost 50, dominated the event until John John eventually reeled him in with two huge scores in his second heat.
Organisers dispensed with the usual chronological pro- gression to a final, where a winner is selected. Each surfer got two heats. Total scores were tallied from their top four rides across both.
“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 World Surf League.
Amen, and Aloha.
Homework
GROMS attending the second leg of the Future Legends Coaching Series in Durban tomorrow have to prove to their coaches that they have done their homework – by surfing better than they did at the first leg last month. Surfers were given a video of themselves surfing to analyse and improve upon. The initiative by South African Surfing Legends plans to get SA surfing back to where it belongs, at the top.
Ultimate Extreme
ULTIMATE X will showcase the best in adrenaline sport at GrandWest tomorrow. Founder Markus Museler said that Grand Arena would be trans- formed into “Africa’s only indoor, floodlit, pyrotechnical action sport showdown”, with skateboarding, BMX, freestyle MX, trail biking, and blading.
Top South African bands and DJs would also be there. Doors open 6pm. Tickets at Computicket. Visit www.ultimatex.co.za
Weather Tip
PLENTY of 4’ swell runs today in light SSE winds becoming fresh south. Muizenberg Corner looks sloppy three foot in mild onshore, worse later. Tomorrow, 4-5’ surf in steady SSE, but strong later. Muizenberg 2-3’ in bad onshores.