Watch it Live online..NOW (12/8) http://live.quiksilver.com/2009/bigwave/live.php?btn_live=_over WAIMEA BAY, Hawaii — The Eddie is on. A lifeguard said that those in the water “better know what they are doing.†Looking out on a crisp, blue morning, officials with the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau Competition — one of the surfing’s most prestigious and rarest events — announced just after dawn Tuesday that the event was a go, the first time the big-wave competition will be held since 2004. “We gotta put on a show,†said the contest director, George Downing, 79. “The show goes on.†The full day of competitive surfing — featuring 28 of the world’s best — started just after 8 a.m. local time with three surfers flying down a monster wave and drawing a huge cheer from the thousands of spectators who are crammed into Waimea Bay, the famed surfing cove where Eddie Aikau, a legendary surfer and lifeguard, once plied the waves. Anticipation of the event had been building for days even as Hawaii’s North Shore was pounded by huge waves, some 30 to 50 feet high, the result of a turbulent Pacific storms to the north of the island. Unlike Monday, where drizzle and choppy conditions caused the event’s postponement, Tuesday dawned bright and sunny, with a few pink-tinted clouds hovering over the bay. Since its inception 25 years ago, “the Eddie,†as the invitation-only event is known, has been held only seven times. Even before the official word came down, however, both event surfers and local “watermen†were kicking and paddling their way into the surf, and zipping down wave faces about 1,000 feet from shore. Over the last week, competitors had traveled to the island of Oahu from around the world in expectation of an “Eddie,†and spectators started filling the bay before dawn. Some had apparently slept on the beach, which like many in the area, has been seriously eroded by days of pounding surf. Shortly after the announcement of the event, lifeguards took jet-skis into the waves as a precaution and there was a Hawaiian prayer for the safety of competitors, and spectators, who had pitched tents, thrown down towels and generally created a party atmosphere. “On the mainland they have snow days, in Hawaii they have surf days,†said Mark Cunningham, one of the event’s announcers. “No school, no work. Let’s celebrate it.†That said, the competition always carries with it an air of danger. On Monday, one world-class surfer, Tom Carroll of Australia, shattered an ankle when he wiped out in heavy surf, and officials warned crowds from getting too close to the churning waters. For his part, Mr. Downing, a lifelong big-wave surfer who is the only man who can call the competition on or off, had studied overnight readings from offshore buoys before making his decision. And as the first surfers took to the waves, he seemed relived that the Eddie woultake place. “Everyone, I think,†he said, “will be happy.â€