Eddie aikau biography espn soccernet

For Eddie Aikau, departing the capsized Hokule'a atop his surfboard for the island of Lanai on the morning of March 17, 1978, was less an act of daring than self-sacrifice. As with hundreds of previous ocean rescues as a North Shore lifeguard, the fearless Hawaiian had placed the welfare of his fellow man before his own.

This final, selfless gesture, many say, immortalized the well-loved waterman, yet as Stuart Holmes Coleman relates, Aikau's legend was cemented long before the Hokule'a set sail on that fateful voyage.

Coleman's new book, "Eddie Would Go: The Story of Eddie Aikau, Hawaiian Hero," is the first biography to capture Aikau's storied existence.

Upon moving to Hawaii nearly a decade ago, Coleman, an avid surfer from South Carolina, learned of Aikau through Hokule'a voyager Marion Lyman-Mersereau and was moved to commit the story to paper.

In compiling three years of research, Coleman interviewed sailors, harbor pilots, big-wave surfers, lifeguards, community activists,