Skimboarding

Eddie would go. This is a statement known around the surfing world and encompasses big wave surfing. Eddie Aikau developed a reputation of being one of the best big wave surfers in the world. Sadly, Eddie lost his life in 1978 when a canoe he was traveling in capsized and he paddled off into the open ocean for help. He was never seen again but his memory lives on through one of the biggest surfing competitions in the world now known as The Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau. Eddie Aikau will always live on as a legendary surfer because of his family, growing up in Hawaii, and being a risk taker. Family molds and influences many people at a young age. Eddie Aikau’s youth was surrounded by everything that enveloped surfing. If surfing had not been passed down to Eddie Aikau by his family, he may not have had such an impact on the sport. He was able to become a legendary surfer because of his parents, siblings, and his Hawaiian heritage. Eddie Aikau’s parents would take his brothers and him surfing every weekend growing up in Maui, Hawaii (Jon). This early exposure to surfing was said to be a key point to his life-long love for surfing. His father was offered a better job in Oahu when Eddie was around thirteen years old so his family moved there (Jon). Waikiki, in Oahu, was a haven for surfing and Eddie quickly became a “Waikiki surf bum”, surfing every day after school, before school, and even during school if the wave was right (Jon). At the time when his father decided to…

My First Wave Skimboarding can be an extremely competitive activity, and the professionals perform amazing tricks. But everyone starts in relatively the same way, by trial and error. And so it was with me. One bright summer day when I was around nine years old I was on the beach with my family. I had just gotten my first skimboard, which was a woody or wooden board with black Let’sParty traction pads, the day before and I was anxious to use it. Coincidentally, there was a one day camp…