On the afternoon of Jan. 9, Tikanui Smith, a big-wave surfer from Tahiti, received the call he had been waiting for all his life.
The Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational would be happening, finally, in less than 48 hours. The event, perhaps the world’s most prestigious and mythical surfing competition, is open only to invitees and held only when the conditions are exactly right. The waves in Waimea Bay, on the North Shore of Oahu, must be consistently reaching heights exceeding 20 feet (6 meters) — that is wave faces of 40 feet, about the size of a four-story building. Those conditions are rare, and even rarer to prevail long enough to host a full day of competition.
The last time the event was held was in 2016.