Kelly Slater
gave up his spot in the Eddie to allow a longtime local to compete for the first time ever.
From what I understand, the hydrography of Waimea Bay is such that its water is entirely placid, up until the swells along the north shore get to like 25', at which point it somehow crosses whatever boundary otherwise keeping the bay sheltered and gets absolutely nuts. The waves for the Eddie were
40-50' high, which having seen like 20-25' waves up close (from shore) is just mind-blowing to me. And if you ride the direction of the roll, toward viewer's left (surfer's right), you end up hammered against some rocks before the wave peters out.
Found some highlights:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJycBaw4bYU
I gotta say, the drone footage is so much better than the old camera angles they used to get, mostly from the cliffs on the west side of the bay. You used to have that angle, the shore angle, and maybe some crazy jetski operator with a GoPro, but it was never super clear. Now in 2023, with the drones and stabilizers and such, it's just come such a long way.