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It’s late in the evening and I’m watching Waimea from the best seat in the house – the mansion on the point. It’s the first time I have ever seen real Waimea, and it’s a wondrous thing to behold. Most of the people gathered on the grass are old hands, having shot it for mags, made videos out of it, watched it break and witnessed moments of drama out there in the water, but I haven’t and I am soaking it in. Then I see it for the first time in my life – a set that does all the big wave clichés that you have ever heard of. The horizon goes dark, deathly lines start marching in, the ocean looks evil and certain death stares down at the puny surfers in the water. This set is so big that I fear for my own safety on land, my brain doing multiple distance/safety/reach calculations in my head. My brain is telling me that the set looks too big, that we might all get washed away, and my logic is telling me to stay put, to not run away while there are so many girls around.
This set catches every single surfer in the water and two waves proceed to close out the bay. I watch on in morbid fascination as the surfers gather together in the tumultuous ocean and help each other to the beach as the sun goes down. Waimea Bay is a full trip.
This year Twiggy Baker will be representing South Africa at Waimea Bay for the Quiksilver In Memory Of Eddie Aikau. Twig’s big wave credentials need no checking. He is legit amongst the legends of the event. Not every one is legit. Many people have questioned the inclusion of Jeremy Flores in an event of this nature, with this amount of history and cultural esteem, but the answer lies with the event sponsor. Twig is our big wave man on The Rock, so we caught up with him to see how it was all going.
Zigzag: Twig, you've got a number of big wave titles behind you, except The Eddie. You must really want it.
Twiggy: Yes, it's become the main priority within my professional surfing agenda. I've won everything at the XXL awards except the Monster Tube award and that's why we have been scouring the SA coast for heavy slabs the past few season's and the same goes for the contest scene, with Mavericks, Dungeons and Punta Lobos titles the next logical step is to try and win the Eddie. Because of this, I've decided to spend most of the winter in Hawaii this year rather then Northern California to train and prepare for the event.
As big waves go, how do you feel about Waimea?
Waimea, like all big wave venues, has its days and when the conditions are right and it's 20ft+ it can be as heavy and exhilarating a wave as any, and easily comparable to Dungeons and Mavericks at their best. It's a jumpy, ledgy takeoff that gets steep on you real quick and if you don't draw the correct line you WILL get the lip on the head.
What’s the biggest and most gnarly you have ever surfed Waimea?
The day before the Eddie in 2009, it was 25ft+ with closeout sets all day and as heavy a wave as you can imagine. The local boys where calling it one of the meanest days ever surfed out there, and I was stoked to be able to give it a go.
Who is consistently the best surfer at big Waimea?
That's a tough one because there are so many good big wave surfers in Hawaii, but from what I've seen the older guys who have dedicated themselves to surfing it on every swell for the past 20 years have to be the standouts.
Who is the most under-rated big wave surfer that you know of?
Another tough question because there are so many new big wave guys who are coming out of the woodwork. Right now I would still say Andrew Marr because he is the MAN in Cape Town and if you are the best down there, you are probably the best anywhere.
 Twiggy shares a Waimea set with Carlos Burle and Andy Irons at the 2009 Eddie event.
What boards do you have at the ready for if and when the event runs?
I have a 9'0" and 9'6" Twig Model's shaped by Bushman ready to go! I just picked up the 9'0" the other day that he shaped off Baron's dimensions and it goes amazing. I am very lucky to have shapers from around the world like Chris Christenson (Todos) and Jeff Clark (Mavericks) who will take my Twig Model designs and adapt them to work even better out at their relevant waves.
When you're in Hawaii and the contest season is in full swing, where do you go to get a few quiet waves?
Ha ha. Nowhere! I go kiting and SUPing to get away from crowds, but sometimes you can still get quiet sessions at waves that are just starting to max out, like Haleiwa, Sunset and The Bay when they are almost too big to still be surfing. I'm also lucky to have fallen in with the right crowd over here and some heavyweights have my back these days, so I can start giving some of the other more popular waves a go and see if I have the metal to go head to head with the best?
Looks like some swell ahead. Good luck. Any word
to all the South Africans who are going to be following the event and cheering you on?
There's a good swell for Thursday, which is the first of the season, and it should make all the big wave venues come to life so it's starting to get exciting over here. I'm very proud and honoured to have been the first South African to compete in the Eddie, and to be given another chance is a dream come true because I didn't do as well as I would have liked last time out. I'm here as a Springbok surfer representing the country that I love and cherish and know that I surf for everyone in South Africa on the day, and that gives me the motivation and desire to go as hard as I can. Thank you to everyone for all the support and I promise to do my best on the day.
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