The Eddie will not go (yet). Officials for the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational changed the alert color to “red” on Monday morning, sharing the update in an Instagram story. 

Last week, Eddie officials issued a “yellow” alert as they closely watched conditions for a massive swell expected to reach Oahu’s Waimea Bay on Feb. 15. 

A three-colored code alert system is used to send updates about the surf competition. Green means the Eddie is a "go" and will be held in 2 to 3 days. Yellow means there is a possible large Eddie-size swell coming in 5 to 7 days. Red means there is no large big wave surf expected in the next week. 

Kevin Wallis, Surfline’s Director of Forecasting, said last week there was “still uncertainty on the details of this potential swell.” He had said there was a possibility Waimea Bay might not get a full day of 20-foot surf (when measured from the back of waves). 

The infamous big wave surf contest is only called on if surf heights consistently reach 20-feet between Dec. 14, 2023 through March 12, 2024. 

The Eddie was held last year, when Luke Shepardson, a Honolulu Ocean Safety lifeguard, won.

Before that, the Eddie was held in 2016, when waves in the bay reached heights of 30 to 50 feet. Hawaii's John John Florence won. 

Since starting in 1984, the contest has only been held 10 times.

Michelle Broder Van Dyke covers the Hawaiian Islands for Spectrum News Hawaii. Email her at michelle.brodervandyke@charter.com.