Big waves no match for Irons

By: Ed Machado - North County Times | Monday, December 20, 2004 8:44 PM PST ∞

Kauai's Bruce Irons made history last Wednesday when he took top honors in the biggest surf in the history of the Quiksilver Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational.

Held at Waimea Bay on the north shore of Oahu, Hawaii, Irons tackled waves in excess of 40 feet to capture $55,000 in prize money at surfing's most prestigious big-wave event.

The "Eddie" requires a minimum wave height of 20 feet to be run.

Because of its strict wave height criteria measured by Hawaiian standards, the "Eddie" has only been run seven times in the past two decades. This year's contest had the biggest and best waves in memory. The morning session offered perfect Waimea conditions: sunny skies, glassy-smooth conditions and surf pulsing consistently in the 25- to 40-foot range. With Internet forecasting letting all of Hawaii know of the pending contest, more than 20,000 spectators crammed the beach and hillsides surrounding Waimea Bay. Traffic on the north shore came to a virtual standstill for the entire day.

Only 24 of the top big-wave riders in the world are invited to participate in this paddle-in event. When forecasters determine large enough surf may be arriving, the contestants are given just 24 hours notice to be on the beach for an early morning start. Each surfer competes in two, one-hour heats, and his best four waves are tallied to determine the winner.

Irons rode the wave of the day when he survived a critical late takeoff into a massive 35-foot bomb. After a series of arcing turns that brought him near the beach, Irons pulled into a heaving, 12-foot shore break closeout with his hands held high. His radical move with no fear of the consequences brought the screaming crowd to its feet. Irons' wave became one of the few in "Eddie" history to be scored a perfect 100.

"At first I was thinking 'Oh no,' but then I just went, 'No way, I'm going for it,' " Irons said. "Winning this contest is greater than I could even have imagined. It's every bit as big as it looked in all the videos and pictures I saw growing up. To ride the biggest waves of my life, to win a contest in the name of Eddie Aikau, a hero we've all grown up with, I just don't know what to say."

Irons, 25, scored 370 points out of a possible 400. Former 2000 champion Ross-Clark Jones of Australia finished second with 338 points. The Big Island's Shane Dorian (331) was third, followed by Hawaiian Andy Irons (329), Northern California's Peter Mel (327) and defending event champion Kelly Slater (291) of Florida.

Clyde Aikau, 51, who is Eddie Aikau's younger brother, competed and placed 13th. Eddie's 32-year-old nephew, Zane, also took part and finished 23rd.

Rip Curl Pipeline Masters

Wildcard entrant Jamie O'Brien, 21, charged to the biggest win of his professional career in an all-Hawaiian final on Sunday at the Rip Curl Pipeline Masters held at the infamous Banzai Pipeline on the north shore of Oahu. The Pipeline Masters was the last event on the ASP World Championship Tour.

O'Brien scored a 7.17 on his first wave, followed by an 8.0 and then brought the crowd to its feet with an extremely critical tube to post a near-perfect 9.97.

"This is amazing," O'Brien said. "I can't believe my dream came true. I'm so happy I achieved it at 21. I was under pressure, so I just sat deep. I figured the other guys were trying to go right, so I held position for the lefts, and somehow they came through. That 9.97 was incredible.

"I couldn't believe I made it, and I felt chills going through my body. I'm just so stoked to have my name up there with all the past Pipe legends. This is the best feeling."

Hawaiian Sunny Garcia, the 2000 World Champion, took second and, in the process, made surfing history by winning his record sixth Van's Triple Crown of Surfing.

"I'm about to tear up right now," Garcia said. "I had to sit out an entire year after having knee surgery. My main goal coming back this year was to be ready for the Triple Crown again, so to win is incredible."

Hawaiian Kalani Robb reached his first Pipe final and took third. Bruce Irons, fresh off his Eddie Aikau win, took fourth.

Carlsbad's Taylor Knox won his first-round heat, defeating Australians Kieren Perrow and Mick Campbell in the process. He then placed third in his next heat, losing to heat-winner Bruce Irons and Australian Phil MacDonald. Knox took equal-17th and finished the season 22nd overall on the WCT.

Ed Machado covers surfing for the North County Times. His column appears every other Tuesday. He can be reached at surfed@cox.net.