Eddie would go - Stuart Holmes Coleman

In the world of surfing there are legends, and then there's Eddie Aikau.

In 1970s Hawaii, a decade before bumper stickers and T-shirts bearing the phrase 'Eddie would go' began popping up throughout the surfing world. Eddie Aikau was proving what it meant to be a 'waterman'. As a fearless and gifted surfer, he rode the biggest waves in the world; as the first and most famous Waimea Bay lifeguard on the North Shore, he saved hundreds of lives from its treacherous waters; and as a proud Hawaiian, he was at the forefront of the renaissance of Polynesian culture.

'Eddie would go', they said, and he did, whatever the weather, whatever the danger. For ten years he was the king of big wave surfing. Then in 1978, with his personal life in turmoil, Eddie joined theHokule'aexpedition, an attempt to recreate the ancient oceanic voyages between Hawaii and Tahiti. The journey was to go horribly wrong. Hours after the expedition left Hawaii, the fragile canoe ran into trouble. The crew were in mortal danger. To save his friends, Eddie was to make the ultimate sacrifice.