Many off island may not know who Eddie Aikau is or what The Eddie surf contest is ALL about that was finally held today after seven years back in 2009.  I am not Hawaiian but can explain how I see things a bit.  First off here on the North Shore of Oahu Eddie was the first official lifeguard of the North Shore which says gobs about what an exceptional waterman he was and how he stood out to everyone being leaps and bounds above the rest.  Without going too into his history....key points are he was a hero, an exceptional waterman which lead to becoming the best BIG wave rider in the world, and most importantly he was Hawaiian and lived selflessly and with aloha!   Today started off by waking up at 5:00 a.m. after only sleeping for about 4 hours prepping late all my camera gear and cleaning and making food and snacks and planning my day as best I could.  A friend was nice enough to take my bike and myself down as far as he could because of the traffic at 5:00 a.m. on an island and unload me to start my journey with not having to exert lots for a long beach bike ride with ALL my gear which would have sucked.  Note beach bikes at least mine are NOT efficient and peddling a block feels like a mile!  lol  Anyway...went to a amazing local spot where I knew I was welcomed and paid my dues sort to speak and earned the respect needed to go there on a day such as this being prime Hawaiian real estate.  I asked humbly if it was an issue and Hawaiian said to me...