Aloha

Aloha
F r i d a y, M a y 1 , 2 0 0 4
Courtesy of David Bettencourt
Aikau on the day the Hokule’a set sail.
Twenty years ago
this month,big-wave
surfer and lifeguard
Eddie Aikau lost his
life in a brave effort
to save crew members
of the capsized
Hokule’a
By Burl Burlingame
Star-Bulletin
plus
8
Surfing Tips
Cover Story: Eddie Aikau . .
Hawaiin Bumber Stickers . .
Horoscope. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Surfing Safety Tips . . . . . . . .
Hawaiin Word of the Day . .
pg. 1
pg. 2
pg. 3
pg. 8
pg. 8
T
HAT Eddie would go was never
seriously in doubt. After a night of
clinging to the overturned hull of capsized
voyaging canoe Hokule’a, ignored by
close-passing ships and aircraft, flares
sputtering futilely in the darkness, and
islands growing smaller on the churning
horizon, in the mid-morning of March 17,
1978, crewman Eddie Aikau insisted on
paddling his surfboard for help.
Lanai, he estimated, was only 12 miles
away.
But the canoe was being battered by
choppy waves and gale-force winds, and
the capsized hull rode low in the water,
making it difficult to accurately gauge
distance. After a conference among
the Hokule’a’s officers, they decided
Eddie could go; indeed, he could not be
restrained. Aikau tied the surfboard leash
to his ankle and a portable strobe light
and some oranges around his neck, and
hesitantly tied a life jacket around his
waist.
Continued on page 2
Aloha May, 2004 1
Aikau estimated
it would take five hours
to reach land. As he
paddled away, crew
members held hands and
said a prayer. Some saw
Aikau ditch the clumsy
life jacket a few hundred
feet from the canoe
hull. Others saw him
on his knees, paddling
strongly, the board
riding up and over the
grumbling whitecaps,
peeking into sight,
smaller and smaller as
he stroked away. No
one ever saw Eddie Aikau again.
Twenty years later, the sacrifice of Hawaiian
surfer and lifeguard Eddie Aikau has reached mythic
status. “Eddie Would Go stickers dot bumpers
everywhere. The Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie
Aikau Big Wave International surf meet occurs only
when the biggest waves
descend howling upon
Waimea Bay. A plaque in
his memory is lovingly
tended by lifeguards and
friends at the bay -- which
was stolen for the first
time on the same day
it was dedicated. And
“Eddie Would Go,” a
new play by Bryan Wake,
is playing at Honolulu
Theatre for Youth.
This sense of
mythology is what drew
Wake to the subject, his
first play, spurred on by
the enthusiasm of former HTY director Peter Brosius.
By Dan Merkel
This image of Eddie Aikau, taken by water photographer Dan
Merkel,
graces the cover of the Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie
Continued on page 5 Myth vs. Man
What do these
Hawaiin Bumper
Stickers Mean?
T
hose of you who have been in
Hawaii before will probably
recognize what I mean here ….
Visitors to Hawaii may see very
common things which just have no
meaning for them. A good example
is the bumper sticker. Some
common bumper stickers you may
see that may perplex you are:
Puinsai - this is something you
would be likely to see on a …
young adult’s car. It is a slang
surfer term for getting in that good
spot in the wave, and also a crude
term for a phrase it phonetically
sounds like.
Edie would go - This is a phrase
2 Aloha May, 2004
honoring the famous Hawaiian
surfer of the 70’s, Eddie Aikau.
Eddie would surf waves other
people were scared to, and he lost
his life in a heroic effort save the
crewmembers of the Hokule’a
after it overturned. He was on the
voyaging canoe when it capsized
many miles off Lanai. After a night
spent in the water, he tied a bag of
oranges around his neck and set off
for land on the surfboard he had
brought with them. The rest of the
crew was eventually saved, but he
was never seen again.
A large wild boar sticker - Pig
hunting is a very popular sport here
in Hawaii. The pigs are usually
hunted with dogs, and brought
home to be cooked into Kalua pig
(yuuuummmy) in the imu. Pig
hunters frequently put the bumper
stickers on their trucks, and they
can also be identified by the 7 or 8
tough looking dogs in the back of
their trucks.
A large fish sticker - in the same
vein as the wild boar, the ulua is
the prize fish of the hawaiian ocean
for shore fisherpeople.
Got poi? This is a hawaiian take
on the Got milk? commercials. Poi
is a hawaiian staple made from the
taro root by mashing it and adding
water until it is the consistency of
glue. There is one-finger poi (very
thick, can be eaten by dipping one
finger in and scooping it up) to
three-finger poi (not so thick). If
you get a chance, try it.
Besides bumper stickers, other meanings that may
elude you are:
E komo mai: this is a phrase that means
“welcome”. Pronounced as “ay koh-moh my”.
Could be seen on an entrance or doorway.
Da kine = Da kine is a pidgen term loosely
translated as “the kind”, which basically is what
you would say when something is on the tip of your
tongue but you can’t remember it. “We going da
kine later” = We’re going _______ later” Insert
whatever word it was you couldn’t remember or
just figured the other person knew, so you didn’’
need to say.
Hui - if someone is yelling hui (hoo-ee) at you in a
high sing-songy voice, they are trying to get your
attention. Better than “hey you!”
Mahalo - if you see Mahalo on the fast food
restaurant garbage can … no, it doesn’t mean
garbage, Mahalo means “Thank you”.
That cat with one paw raised in all the businesses
- This is the Japanese good fortune cat, called
Maneki Neko, the beckoning cat. Most businesses
you enter in Hawaii, Japanese or not, will have
at least one of these cats on display, some have
shelves of them! Modern Hawaii culture is heavily
influenced by Japanese traditions, and this is one
example.
Horoscope
Aries (March 21 - April 19)
Six miles from Maui is a Hawaiian island that
tourists never visit -- Kaho’olawe. The U.S. Navy
seized it in 1941 and used it as a target range for
decades. After years of protests by Native Hawaiians,
the Navy finally stopped bombing and began a cleanup campaign. Last month it formally turned control
of the island over to the rightful owners. “You
can get a feel on Kaho’olawe of what it was like
to live on Hawaii at the time of our ancestors,”
says Native Hawaiian Davianna McGregor. “We
can practice our traditions there without it being a
tourist attraction. It’s one place we can go to be in
communion with our natural life forces.” Every one
of us has a personal version of Kaho’olawe, Aries:
a part of our psyche that has been stolen or colonized
by hostile forces. It’s a perfect moment for you
to take back yours. Life will bring you entertaining
revelations in the coming week, Aries.
Taurus
(April 20 - May 20)
Three billion years ago, the Earth’s original
single-cell organisms thrived in a carbon dioxiderich atmosphere. As a byproduct of their metabolism,
however, they released an abundant amount of
oxygen. It was a pollutant that ultimately made
their environment uninhabitable for them, though it
prepared the way for the oxygen-breathers that now
dominate the planet. Now let’s meditate on how this
might be a useful metaphor for you, Taurus. Is there
any “pollutant” produced by the person you were
in the past that could be valuable for the person you
will become in the future?
Gemini
(May 21 - June 20)
Vanessa Lucero, a 14-year-old New Mexico girl,
is your role model this week. In October, she was
named homecoming princess at her high School. On
the weekend of her reign, she also played in a game
for the football team, becoming the first female in
school history to score a touchdown. During the span
of a few glorious hours, she wore both a helmet and
a tiara. Like Vanessa, you Geminis now have the
potential to notch triumphs in two separate spheres
using different sets of skills.
Aloha May, 2004 3
Cancer
(July 21 - July 22)
The world’s most famous Cancer, U.S. President
George W. Bush, has described his relationship with
newspapers this way: “I glance at the headlines just
to kind of get a flavor for what’s moving. I rarely
read the stories, and get briefed by people who read
the news themselves.” Please don’t imitate Bush’s
approach as you gather information in the coming
days, my fellow Crabs. It’s crucial that you never
rely on third-hand reports as you penetrate to the root
of every unfolding plot. You know how journalists
sometimes bury really interesting and mysterious
details at the end of their stories? That’s what life
will do.
Leo
(July 23 - August 22)
After a study found that a majority of heterosexual
men dive into sexual intercourse without any warmup, Britain launched its first annual National Foreplay
Day last July. How about if we borrow this holiday for
your use, Leo? I’m not saying you’ve been remiss
in your approach to maximizing erotic pleasure, but
there’s always room for improvement. Besides, from
an astrological perspective this is a favorable time to
expand your mastery of the arts of love.
Virgo
(August 23 - September 22)
This week’s horoscope features the poetry of U.S.
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Delivered
at a news briefing, it provides a perfect frame for
the current state of your fate. “As we know,” he
said, “there are known knowns. There are things
we know we know. We also know there are known
unknowns. That is to say, we know there are some
things we do not know. But there are also unknown
unknowns, the ones we don’t know we don’t
know.” You, Virgo, are very close to discovering at
least two of your personal unknown unknowns. (For
more poetry by Rumsfeld, check out the book Pieces
of Intelligence : The Existential Poetry of Donald
H. Rumsfeld, edited by Hart Seel.) What greater
adventure is there than exploring the enigmas of your
unique destiny, Virgo?
Libra
(September 23 - October 22)
My Libran friend John was constantly harassed
and shamed by his father over trivial issues when he
was growing up. A typical scenario often occurred
in the kitchen as John scanned the refrigerator for
4 Aloha May, 2004
an appetizing snack. “You idiot!” his dad would
scream at him. “How many millions of times have
I told you not to hold the refrigerator door open so
long?” John would immediately close the door and
leave in silence, feeling humiliated and hungry. When
he told me this story today, here’s what I advised him
to do: Keep his refrigerator door open for as long as
it takes to wipe away the pain of his father’s inane
cruelty. To the rest of you Libras I say: Rebel in a way
that will heal a wound from childhood.
Scorpio
(October 23 - November 21)
Like every species, harmful microbes evolve over
time in response to environmental conditions. Sars,
for example, was far more lethal and fast-spreading
500 years ago. It killed its human victims relatively
quickly, which diminished its ability to proliferate
in new hosts. Ultimately, a milder variety developed
to ensure the survival of the species. An infected
person lived longer and could spread the sars strain
further. I propose that you adopt this model as a
metaphor for dealing with your bad moods, aberrant
behavior, and temporary attacks of insanity. Cultivate
your relationship with the milder forms of these
pathologies, confident that this will make the nastier
versions obsolete.
Sagittarius
(November 22 - December 21)
I saw the Acura commercial on TV tonight.
The car was driving through a remote high desert.
Through the magic of computer graphics, it seemed
to be creating the road as it moved, laying down
paved blacktop where before there was only dirt. I
thought of you immediately, Sagittarius. You’re in a
comparable situation, right? There’s no path where
you’re going, so you’ll have to make it for yourself
as you proceed.
Capricorn
(December 22 - January 19)
Capricorn actress Drea de Matteo’s career is
in full bloom. Besides her regular role on HBO’s
“The Sopranos,” she has been in nine movies since
2001. To what should we attribute her success? Lots
of talent, for one. A playwright mother who exposed
her to the theater early, for two. It’s high time you
acknowledged the fact that skill and hard work may not
be enough to get you where you want to go; you also need
mojo. Your destiny is a gorgeous mystery, Capricorn. Your
soul is awakening more every day. The secrets of life are
ripening right in front of your eyes.
Aquarius
(January 20 - February 18)
“So many of us are not in our bodies, really at
home and vibrantly present there,” says dancer
Gabrielle Roth. “Nor are we in touch with
the basic rhythms that constitute our bodily
life. We live outside ourselves -- in our heads,
our memories, our longings -- absentee
landlords of our own estate.” Does any of
that description fit you, Aquarius? If so,
here’s good news: The months ahead will
provide you with the best opportunity ever
to come home to your body, to inhabit it
with robust awareness and gratitude. And
it all starts now. To show you’re ready,
find a place to be alone in the dark, put on
music that moves you, and dance yourself
all the way back into your body. What
Continued from pg 2
Myth vs. man
When Wake began researching,
however, he discovered that Aikau’s
celebrity as a cultural hero had begun to
chip away at memories of the real man,
and worse, were becoming combined in
the popular subconscious. “There were
kids who were mixing him up with George
Helm, with Duke Kahanamoku. I was six
when Aikau disappeared, and for years I was
convinced he disappeared while rescuing tourists
from a boat in Waimea Bay.”
The circumstances of Aikau’s life fit neatly into
the archetype of the mythic hero, the humble person
from poor surroundings who masters a particular
skill, who saves his fellow man or lifts them from
despair, and who then vanishes or dies tragically
in such a way that leaves his absence open to
speculation and interpretation.
Born May 4, 1946, on Maui, the third of six
close-knit children, Edward Ryan Aikau discovered
greater adventure is there than exploring the enigmas
of your unique destiny, Aquarius?
Pisces (February 19 - March 20)
Each week I give my readers homework. A recent
assignment was to finish the sentence, “The one
thing that keeps me from being myself is _____
_____.” Many respondents filled in the blank
with “my fears.” Other common answers
were “lack of money,” “my spouse,” and
“my obsession with everyone’s images of
me.” But the best contribution was from
Ann-Marie at www.getunderground.com. She
said, “The one thing that keeps me from
being myself is people’s reluctance to lick
patent leather.” By not taking herself too
seriously, she showed that nothing can keep
her from being herself. Drawing inspiration
from her sterling example, Pisces, finish
this sentence in a more humorous way
than you normally might: “The one thing
that keeps me from being myself is _____
_____.”
the waves of Kahului -- pre-harbor, it
regularly broke two- to three-foot -- by
helping father Solomon “Pops” Aikau
drag a heavy redwood surfboard to the
beach. The family moved to Oahu in
1959, where they took care of a Chinese
graveyard.
Eddie kept surfing, fixated on it, dropped
out of school and worked at the Dole Cannery
so he’d have the morning breaks open for
surfing. “He was an A and B student before
he dropped out,” said sister Myra Aikau.
In 1967, virtually unknown on the North
Shore, he showed up at a huge day at Waimea
Bay, free-falling down thundering 40-footers, a
smile on his face, and was instantly embraced by the
professional surfing fraternity.
There are surfers, and there are big-wave surfers.
One type uses the wave to propel his board, he’s in
charge; the other becomes an extension of the ocean,
riding on its mighty shoulder.
“I surf some of the biggest waves in the world,
I’m the oldest guy in the world surfing the biggest
Aloha May, 2004 5
waves in the world, and I’ve seen
lots of surfers take off,” said Clyde
Aikau, Eddie’s younger brother
and his best friend. “But none
surfed like Eddie. He’d take off
on a big, big scary wave, and he’d
be sliding down it with the biggest
smile you ever saw. The rest of us
are nervous. Eddie belonged there;
it was home.”
That rare skill began the legend.
After all, waves coalesce, gathering
into a surge all the little wavelets
that wrinkle the ocean’s skin, the
energy roiling into a kind of cyclic
engine, pushed by wind
and storm and tidal forces and
pulled by the moon and then, when
the spinning water strikes a rising
beach, it rears up, climbing and
then collapses, foaming the shore
with the vibes of storms far over
the horizon. And here’s Eddie, so
at ease in these immense forces
that he smiles when he surfs. Eddie
would go, all right.
Aikau became known not just as
a superb surfer, but as a mediator
and lifesaver, someone who’d
leap
into the surf to rescue someone
in serious trouble, or break up
arguments with logic and simple
good cheer. In recognition of
his special skills, he became a
lifeguard at Waimea Bay despite
not having a high school diploma.
“It was a special thing that he
got an exemption to be a lifeguard
even though he didn’t have a highschool degree,” said Clyde Aikau.
“But Eddie had knowledge, not
education.”
‘Only
Eddie
dared’
Another step in building a
legend: doing something no one else has
done before or since, purely on the basis of raw
skill. Aikau’s prowess as a lifeguard became widely
known, and a comforting presence on the beach. No
one drowned on his watch, dozens were saved, at
leas the ones we know about, because Aikau rarely
bothered to file reports on lifesaving.
“The phrase ‘Eddie would go’ predates
Hokule’a,” said Mac Simpson, maritime historian.
“Aikau was a legend on the North Shore, pulling
people out of waves that no one else would dare to.
That’s where the saying came from -- Eddie would
go, when no else would or could. Only Eddie dared.”
His fellow lifeguards voted Aikau Lifeguard of the
Year in 1971.
David Bettencourt, attorney and sports enthusiast,
met Aikau at a luau when the surfer had returned
from a surfing contest match in South Africa that
didn’t happen.
“He didn’t think he was bigger than anyone
else. All the surfers I knew talked about him -Ricky Grigg, Jose Angel -- but when we met I was
amazed at how little he said. It’s not just that his
accomplishments were so well known that he didn’t
need to talk about them, it’s that he was genuinely
humble,” said Bettencourt, who was “hanai’d”
6 Aloha May, 2004
by the Aikau
family after
suffering a hanggliding accident.
During the 1970s, Aikau became
more interested in his Hawaiian-ness,
expressing it through spirituality and curiosity
about the then-new Hawaiian “renaissance.” Part
of it was a reaction to older brother Gerald’s death
in an auto crash just a month after returning from
combat in Vietnam.
Aikau decided that he’d try out for the second
voyage as a Hokule’a crew member, and began
spending every free moment at the dock, learning
everything he could about the voyaging canoe.When
the time came, as Aikau waited with other Hokule’a
candidates to see if he had made the cut, he played
a song he had written for the occasion, which noted,
“Hawaii’s pride she sails with the wind / and proud
are we to see her sail free / Feelings deep and so
strong / For Hoku, Hokule’a / For Hoku, Hokule’a
...”
“I don’t
t h i n k
there was a
dry eye in the room
as he finished,” recalled
fellow
candidate
Marian
Lyman-Mersereau. “I felt great
admiration for this man, who
was not only a courageous and
gifted athlete, but a sensitive and
talented musician as well. I looked
forward to getting to know him ...”
As Aikau told disc jockey Ron
Jacobs in his last interview that
day before the canoe left, pressure
from “the media and
all our families”
was becoming
“unbelievable
from all over, but
once we sail out
there, we’ll be
all right. We can
settle down and
be ourselves.”
She didn’t get the chance. A And then he played his
few hours after she launched “Hokule’a” song live
amid officious hoopla at Magic on the air.
Island, Hokule’a, overloaded,
with “watertight” compartments
The great adventure became a
letting in water on one side, and life-and-death struggle. Ironically,
thrashed by choppy seas, was struck only a few hours after Aikau
opposite and broadside by a large disappeared, the rest of the crew
wave, driving a wedge of water were spotted by chance and
under the lighter outrigger and rescued. “That’s what creates the
flipping the craft like a pancake. legend, the all-consuming, selfless
“People who live on
shore simply do not
understand
that a sailboat
cannot be
operated like
a train. The
weather is
a factor, the
major factor,”
sighs Herb
Kane, Hokule’a designer,
historian and artist. “Hokule’a
took off that day because they felt
they had to. The governor was there
to see them off, and had brought
news crews. But the weather
wasn’t right. When you have to
conform to someone else’s
schedule, you have to
accept risks.”
act,” said Wake. “It’s the tragic
heroes that become mythical.”
The search for Aikau
became the largest
air-sea rescue effort
in modern Hawaiian
history.
“Oh, wow, it was
tough,” recalls Clyde
Aikau. “In 1978 I was in
Australia at a surf meet when I
heard about Eddie, and all through
the flight back, I kept looking
out over the ocean, just hoping.
If anyone could make it, Eddie
could.”
“I was so sick the day
Hokule’a left; strep throat,” said
Bettencourt. “I went home, and
the next day canceled my court
stuff. But then I got a call saying
Eddie
had
disappeared.
We searched
in my plane.
(Pilot) Tom
Hauptmann put a Hughes
500 (helicopter) at our
disposal and we
searched for days.”
He sighed as well.
“We saw the board,
I’m sure of it, and about
a hundred yards away
from the board, something
orange in the sea. It’s always
haunted me. We pulled up to get
our bearings -- we didn’t have
navigation equipment then like
we do now -- and lost it bene ath
us. When we went back down,
we couldn’t find it, or it was
gone. This isn’t known, but the
helicopter ran up like a $6,000
to $7,000 fuel bill while it was
searching for Eddie, which was
paid by (singer) Helen Reddy, who
just quietly gave us the money.”
Eddie would go, and he was
gone. The legend ended there
and the myth began. “I heard
one kid saying that Eddie is the
guy who hits the biggest waves,
but if he were to walk by today,
she wouldn’t recognize him,”
pondered Wake. “There’s a real
belief out there that Eddie is still
among us somehow, still looking
out for swimmers. The trick in
doing the play was to balance and
honor the man, but also to be
truthful.”
Aloha May, 2004 7
—Hawaiian Word
of the Week—
ahonui - (ah ho noo ee) - patient,
patience
Surfing Safety Tips
Surfing has been called one of Hawaii’s greatest
gifts. Perfected by the early Hawaiians, surfing is now
internationally recognized as one of athletics’ most
exciting and beautiful water sports.
While Hawaii is well recognized as having many of
the world’s best surfing sites, (on Oahu there are
over 200), most are for intermediate and advanced
surfers.
The following safety tips were put together by the
University of Hawaii’s Sea Grant Program, in
cooperation with the State’s Division of Boating
and Ocean Recreation and the Honolua Bay School of
Surfing:
• Learn how to swim
• Learn surfing from an experienced and licesnsed
instructor
• Always surf with a friend
• If you’re unfamiliar with a beach, ask questions
before you go in the water
• Take time to observe wave and current conditions
before going in
• Once in the water, look for landmarks on shore to
mark your position
• Know your limits, stay out of surf that is too
dangerous for you to handle
• Finally, drugs and alcohol have no place on the
beach or in the ocean
8 Aloha May, 2004
Aloha
Publisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jennifer Marshall
Associate Publisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Robin Williams
Special Projects Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nancy Davis
Guest Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barbara Sikora
Associate Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Scarlett Florence
Art Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Tollett
Contributors
Writers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dave Rohr
Fred Cisneros
Maggie Macnab
Jason Halstead
Paul Shaw
Copy Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carmen Sheldon
Designers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Robin Williams
John Tollett
Photographers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andrew Thweyer
Adam Ansel
Lily Wild
Account Executives . . . . . . . . . . Ryan Nigel Williams
Kelly McGlynn
Dakota
Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maximus San Diego
Production Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Elisa Garcia
Front Desk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jane Bassett
Directors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Patricia May Williams
Gerald Wilford
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