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Eddie Aikau

by Elisabeth from Geneva


Eddie Aikau is a very interesting man. If you don't know who Eddie Aikau was, I can tell you about him. Let's just say that he loved to help.

Eddie had strong love for the ocean. In Eddie's lifetime he worked as a lifeguard at Waimea Bay in Hawaii. He did very well at his job. Practically his job was to save helpless people from monstrous waves.

During Eddie's job he saved hundreds of people from huge waves. Eddie lived in Hawaii on an island. Waimea Bay is a very dangerous beach on the island. Eddie was born on May 4, 1946. He also has 6 siblings. Eddie grew up in Lahaina, Maui, and he went to St. Anthony School. Eddie lived near a Chinese graveyard. Later on their family moved to Oahu in Hawaii because Eddie's father was offered a better job. When Eddie even started to be a lifeguard he dropped out of school. When he started surfing he then dedicated his life to surfing. Later on he joined the Hokule crew. During that time he was discovering Hawaiian Islands with his crew. One time their crew went into some pretty bad weather, the next day they were rescued but Eddie was never found again, but ever since that day he was always remembered by many.

When Eddie reached the age of 16, he would take a job at a pineapple cannery and he would stop school. Since there were no lifeguards in the 1960s, Eddie convinced the city and the county of Honolulu in 1968 to hire him even though Eddie didn't have a high school diploma, an agreement would be made and Eddie would be the first lifeguard. In 1971 his lifeguarding skills would lead him to receive the lifeguard of the year award. Eddie was also great at being a guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Eddie Aikau was a very talented person. Many people thought that Waimea Bay was a sacred place where nobody dared to surf because of the monstrous waves. Eddie once said that he couldn't watch helpless people be taken by the sea. That is why Eddie would rescue them. "EDDIE WOULD GO". EDDIE WOULD GO is a book about Eddie Aikau and his stories about surfing and saving helpless people from monstrous waves. The Eddie Aikau Foundation was made by the Aikau family in 2006.

Eddie is a great guy to learn about, I wrote about Eddie Aikau because he is so interesting. Eddie has inspired me to love surfing and to help people whenever I can.

Page created on 1/27/2014 12:00:00 AM

Last edited 1/27/2014 12:00:00 AM

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Related Links

Eddie Aikau - Quicksilver Tribute to his life